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
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Butterfly Milkweed at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
See diagrams of milkweed flower structure at Wayne's Word.
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.
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USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_071
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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).
)
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).
)
Wesley Burnett gwb070609_0675
June Pickens County SC
Roadside
Pollinator at work.
)
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).
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm190614_9122
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210603_0892
June Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210619_1401
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
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JK Marlow jkm210621_1476
June Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
)
Bill Stringer wcs139_red
June?
)
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).
)
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).
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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).
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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).
)
JK Marlow jkm080821_018
August Greenville County SC
)
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).
)
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).
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JK Marlow jkm080904_010
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm080906_013
September Greenville County SC
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm090910_006
September Greenville County SC
Milkweed Bug nymphs congregating on a Milkweed pod.
)
Sam Pratt sbp_3994
September Spartanburg County SC
)
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
139
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: woodland margins, roadsides, pastures, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
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!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p107?
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p207
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p014
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p149?
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p106
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p092?
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p384
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p538
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p188?
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p051
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p445
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p149?
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p069
- Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: Northeastern US (Clemants & Gracie, 2006) p136
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p202?
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p051
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p193?
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p230
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p338
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p127?
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p072
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