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BUTTERFLY MILKWEED
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| File Size: 152 KB |
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Asclepias tuberosa L.
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| Mitchell County, Kansas |
| Perennial |
| Height: 1 to 3 feet |
| Family: Asclepiadaceae - Milkweed Family |
| Flowering Period: June, July, August |
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| Also Called: | | Butterfly weed, pleurisy root. | | Stems: | | Erect or ascending, stout, simple or sparingly branched above, very leafy, long-hairy; sap watery. | | Leaves: | | Alternate, simple, short-stalked, numerous, crowded, oblong-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 2-4 inches long, 1/4 to 1 inch wide, shiny green and nearly glabrous above, velvety-hairy below; margins entire; tips pointed to rounded. | | Inflorescences: | | Umbels, 1 to several, short-stalked or sessile, 6-25-flowered, terminal and in upper leaf axils. | | Flowers: | | 5-parted, about 1/2 inch tall; calyx lobes linear to lanceolate, green to purple-tinged; corolla lobes orange to red or yellow, bent downward; hoods erect; horns slender, needle-shaped; all similarly colored. | | Fruits: | | Pods, spindle-shaped, 3-6 inches long, about 1/2 inch wide, nearly erect on downward-curved stalks, finely pubescent; seeds numerous, broadly oval, tufted with white hairs at tips. | | Habitat: | | Dry, sandy or rocky soils of prairies, roadsides, and waste places. | | Distribution: | | East two-thirds of Kansas. | | Uses: | | Native Americans and pioneers used the roots to treat respiratory problems, which is how the common name "pleurisy root" originated. | | Comments: | | The flowers of this plant attract butterflies and many other insects. Butterfly milkweed has a deep taproot, so it does not transplant easily. It will readily grow from seed. |
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| Butterfly milkweed |  | | 144 KB | | Ottawa County, Kansas |
| | Red butterfly milkweed |  | | 103 KB | | Lincoln County, Kansas |
| | Yellow butterfly milkweed |  | | 134 KB | | Mitchell County, Kansas |
| | Butterfly milkweed flowers |  | | 94 KB | | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| | Butterfly milkweed flowers |  | | 86 KB | | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| | Yellow butterfly milkweed flowers |  | | 89 KB | | Ottawa County, Kansas |
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