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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Butterfly weed
| image = Butterfly Weed Entire Flower Head 2608px.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Gentianales]]
| familia = [[Apocynaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Asclepiadoideae]]
| genus = ''[[Asclepias]]''
| species = '''''A. tuberosa'''''
| binomial = ''Asclepias tuberosa''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''Butterfly weed''' (''Asclepias tuberosa'', also called '''Canada root''', '''Chigger flower''', '''Chiggerflower''', '''Fluxroot''', '''Indian paintbrush''', '''Indian posy''', '''Orange milkweed''', '''Orange Swallow-wort''', '''Pleurisy root''', '''Silky Swallow-wort''', '''Tuber root''', '''Yellow milkweed''', '''White-root''', '''Windroot''') is a species of [[milkweed]] native to eastern [[North America]]. It is a [[perennial plant]] growing to 0.6-2 m (1 -2 feet) tall, with clustered orange or yellow [[flower]]s from early summer to early fall. The [[leaf|leaves]] are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 5-12 cm long and 2-3 cm broad.
This plant favors dry, sand or gravel soil, but has also been reported on stream margins.
The common name comes from the [[butterfly|butterflies]] that are attracted to the plant by its color and its copious production of [[nectar]]. Butterfly weed is also the [[larva]]l food plant of the [[Queen butterfly]].
== Identification ==
The plant looks similar to the [[Lanceolate milkweed]] (''Asclepias lanceolata''), however the Butterfly weed is uniquely identified by the larger number of flowers and hairy stems that are not milky when broken. It is most commonly found in fields with dry soil.
{{commons|Asclepias tuberosa}}
== Other common names ==
Canada-root, Chiggerflower, Indian posy, Orange-root, Orange swallowwort, Tuberroot, Whiteroot, Windroot, Yellow or Orange milkweed.
== Subspecies indicated ==
*''Asclepias tuberosa interior'', Central United States.
*''Asclepias tuberosa rolfsii'' (Rolfs Milkweed), Southeast United States.
*''Asclepias tuberosa tuberosa'', Eastern United States.
<gallery>
Image:Butterfly Weed Whole Flowering Plant 1676px.jpg|Entire plant from the ground to the flower
Image:Butterfly Weed Flower and Bud Closeup 2408px.jpg|A flower head closeup
Image:Butteryfly Weed 3 Stages of Bloom 2240px.jpg|Closeup showing unopened, opening, and fully opened flower buds
Image:Asclepias tuberosa.JPG| "Hello Yellow"
Image:Asclepias tuberosa0.jpg
</gallery>
== External links ==
* [http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/asclepiastube.html Butterfly weed brief information and pictures]
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ASTU USDA information]
* [[b:A Wikimanual of Gardening Volume 7/Asclepias tuberosa|A Wikimanual of Gardening: Asclepias tuberosa]]
*[http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=B490 Missouri Botanical Garden] ''Asclepias tuberosa'' (native plant without Milky Stems)
*[http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=S470 Missouri Botanical Garden] ''Asclepias tuberosa 'Hello Yellow''' (cultivar with Milky Stems)
== References ==
*{{cite book
| last = Peterson
| first = Roger Tory
| coauthors = Margaret McKenny
| title = A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America
| publisher = [[Houghton Mifflin Company]]
| year = [[1968]]
| location = Boston
| id = ISBN 0-395-18325-1
}}
*[http://www.derbycityprints.com/Ornithology_Audubon_Birds_of_America_-_Royal_Octavo_Weeds_Bird_watching_image-6066.htm Photo of a J.J. Audubon Plate Clay-Colored Sparrow perched atop Asclepias tuberosa]
[[Category:Apocynaceae]]
[[Category:Flora of Canada]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Butterfly weed
| image = Butterfly Weed Entire Flower Head 2608px.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Gentianales]]
| familia = [[Apocynaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Asclepiadoideae]]
| genus = ''[[Asclepias]]''
| species = '''''A. tuberosa'''''
| binomial = ''Asclepias tuberosa''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''Butterfly weed''' (''Asclepias tuberosa'', also called '''Canada root''', '''Chigger flower''', '''Chiggerflower''', '''Fluxroot''', '''Indian paintbrush''', '''Indian posy''', '''Orange milkweed''', '''Orange Swallow-wort''', '''Pleurisy root''', '''Silky Swallow-wort''', '''Tuber root''', '''Yellow milkweed''', '''White-root''', '''Windroot''') is a species of [[milkweed]] native to eastern [[North America]]. It is a [[perennial plant]] growing to 0.6-2 m (1 -2 feet) tall, with clustered orange or yellow [[flower]]s from early summer to early fall. The [[leaf|leaves]] are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 5-12 cm long and 2-3 cm broad.
This plant favors dry, sand or gravel soil, but has also been reported on stream margins.
The common name comes from the [[butterfly|butterflies]] that are attracted to the plant by its color and its copious production of [[nectar]]. Butterfly weed is also the [[larva]]l food plant of the [[Queen butterfly]].
== Identification ==
The plant looks similar to the [[Lanceolate milkweed]] (''Asclepias lanceolata''), however the Butterfly weed is uniquely identified by the larger number of flowers and hairy stems that are not milky when broken. It is most commonly found in fields with dry soil.
{{commons|Asclepias tuberosa}}
== Other common names ==
Canada-root, Chiggerflower, Indian posy, Orange-root, Orange swallowwort, Tuberroot, Whiteroot, Windroot, Yellow or Orange milkweed.
== Subspecies indicated ==
*''Asclepias tuberosa interior'', Central United States.
*''Asclepias tuberosa rolfsii'' (Rolfs Milkweed), Southeast United States.
*''Asclepias tuberosa tuberosa'', Eastern United States.
<gallery>
Image:Butterfly Weed Whole Flowering Plant 1676px.jpg|Entire plant from the ground to the flower
Image:Butterfly Weed Flower and Bud Closeup 2408px.jpg|A flower head closeup
Image:Butteryfly Weed 3 Stages of Bloom 2240px.jpg|Closeup showing unopened, opening, and fully opened flower buds
Image:Asclepias tuberosa.JPG| "Hello Yellow"
Image:Asclepias tuberosa0.jpg
</gallery>
== External links ==
* [http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/asclepiastube.html Butterfly weed brief information and pictures]
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ASTU USDA information]
* [[b:A Wikimanual of Gardening Volume 7/Asclepias tuberosa|A Wikimanual of Gardening: Asclepias tuberosa]]
*[http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=B490 Missouri Botanical Garden] ''Asclepias tuberosa'' (native plant without Milky Stems)
*[http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=S470 Missouri Botanical Garden] ''Asclepias tuberosa 'Hello Yellow''' (cultivar with Milky Stems)
== References ==
*{{cite book
| last = Peterson
| first = Roger Tory
| coauthors = Margaret McKenny
| title = A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America
| publisher = [[Houghton Mifflin Company]]
| year = [[1968]]
| location = Boston
| id = ISBN 0-395-18325-1
}}
*[http://www.derbycityprints.com/Ornithology_Audubon_Birds_of_America_-_Royal_Octavo_Weeds_Bird_watching_image-6066.htm Photo of a J.J. Audubon Plate Clay-Colored Sparrow perched atop Asclepias tuberosa]
[[Category:Apocynaceae]]
[[Category:Flora of Canada]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]