OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa   FAMILY Apocynaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias tuberosa ssp. tuberosa   FAMILY Asclepiadaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-004a:

Asclepias tuberosa ssp. tuberosa   FAMILY Asclepiadaceae

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Asclepias decumbens

INCLUDING & INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Asclepias tuberosa

 

COMMON NAME:
Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969    mpa_page_071

        

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm100504_003

May    Greenville County    SC

Stems stout, hirsute to hispid; the sap not milky, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm180504_459

May    Meriwether-Talbot Counties    GA

Sprewell Bluff WMA

Leaves alternate and numerous, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

Wesley Burnett    gwb070609_0675

June    Pickens County    SC

Roadside

Pollinator at work.

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm0506a_26

June    Greenville County    SC

Field

Plant is rough-hairy throughout, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm160615_020

June    Greenville County    SC

Leaves abundant, linear to elliptic, obovate, oblanceolate or hastate, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm190614_9122

June    Greenville County    SC

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm210603_0892

June    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm210619_1401

June    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm210621_1476

June    Spartanburg County    SC

In cultivation

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

Bill Stringer    wcs139_red

June?        

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm080716_001

July    Greenville County    SC

Follicles erect, 8-15 cm long and 1-1.5 cm broad, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

Steve Marlow    snm0707041077_022b

July    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

Pollinator at work... Corolla lobes reflexed; corona horns shorter than hoods, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm080821_008

August    Greenville County    SC

At first glance, early instar Milkweed Bug nymphs look like red aphids, per Milkweeds, Monarchs and More (Rea, Oberhauser, & Quinn, 2003).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm080821_016

August    Greenville County    SC

Markings on Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) form a black band, per Milkweeds, Monarchs and More (Rea, Oberhauser, & Quinn, 2003).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm080821_018

August    Greenville County    SC

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

Tim Spira    tps_atuberosa_frts7

August        

Erect boat-shaped pod splits on one side to release many plume-tufted seeds, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm080904_001

September    Greenville County    SC

Seeds with feathery parachute-like structures float on the slightest breeze, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm080904_010

September    Greenville County    SC

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm080906_013

September    Greenville County    SC

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm090910_003

September    Greenville County    SC

Milkweed Bug nymphs eat Milkweed plant matter, seeds and nectar, per Milkweeds, Monarchs and More (Rea, Oberhauser, & Quinn, 2003).

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm090910_006

September    Greenville County    SC

Milkweed Bug nymphs congregating on a Milkweed pod.

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

Sam Pratt    sbp_3994

September    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Eastern Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root

JK Marlow    jkm071021_009

October    Oconee County    SC

Seed pods are 4-5" long and look like elongated footballs held upright, per All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa   FAMILY Apocynaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias tuberosa ssp. tuberosa   FAMILY Asclepiadaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-004a:
Asclepias tuberosa ssp. tuberosa   FAMILY Asclepiadaceae

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Asclepias decumbens

INCLUDING & INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Asclepias tuberosa

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

139

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: woodland margins, roadsides, pastures, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Does not have milky sap

LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Orange/Red/Yellow
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed corolla, lobes reflexed
Superior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Follicle

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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