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Butterfly Weed Asclepias tuberosa by Karie Nugent
The butterfly root usually grows to be from one to two feet in height. It has short hairy stems bearing rough-looking leaves that are normally two to six inches long. The flowers that grow at the end of its branches are normally oddly shaped and orange in color. The flowers can also have yellow gold and red coloring. For the most part though, they are unmistakably bright orange. The butterfly root is native to North America and can live just about anywhere in the United States, although most are found in the South. This plant can survive extreme climates ranging from the hot temperatures and droughts that occur in the summer months, to winters with temperatures dropping twenty degrees below zero. The butterfly root does best however, planted in sandy or gravelly soil with a lot of sun. Because of this, most have been found to grow along or near the banks of streams. The butterfly weed does not have to worry about humans as predators, but they do have to watch out for sucking insects called yellow aphids, which arrive after the plant has been in bloom for a while. Luckily though, these yellow aphids cannot kill the butterfly weed. The butterfly weed usually blooms twice between June and September. They have three inch purple seedpods, which are full of seeds that will eventually burst open to be carried away to other locations on silky white “parachutes.” Unlike many of the similar plants in this family, the butterfly weed contains very little milky juice. Some may contain none at all. Wildlife organizations have listed this plant as threatened, therefore; the butterfly weed needs to be handled carefully. They should generally not be moved since they do not relocate well because of the large taproot they form. Written spring 2004, as a service learning project for Dr. Gary Coté's Biology 102 class at Radford University. Copyright Pathways for Radford. |
