Asclepias tuberosa, commonly known as butterfly weed, is a species of milkweed native to eastern and southwestern North America.[2] It is commonly known as butterfly weed because of the butterflies that are attracted to the plant by its color and its copious production of nectar.[3]
Description
It is a perennial plant growing to 0.3–1 m (1–3+1⁄2 ft) tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 3–12 cm (1+1⁄4–4+3⁄4 in) long,[4] and 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) broad.
From April to September, in the upper axils, 7.5 cm (3 in)–wide umbels of orange, yellow or red flowers 1.5 cm (1⁄2 in) wide appear. They each have five petals and five sepals.[4] It is uncertain if reddish flowers are due to soil mineral content, ecotype genetic differentiation, or both. A cultivar named 'Hello Yellow' typically has more yellowish flowers than ordinary examples of this plant.
The fruit pod is 7.5–15 cm (3–6 in) long, containing many long-haired seeds.[4]
Similar species
The plant looks similar to the lanceolate milkweed (Asclepias lanceolata), but is uniquely identified by the larger number of flowers, and the hairy stems that are not milky when broken. It is most commonly found in fields with dry soil.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Asclepias tuberosa subsp. interior – (Central United States, Ontario and Quebec[5])
Asclepias tuberosa subsp. rolfsii – Rolfs milkweed (Southeastern United States)
Asclepias tuberosa subsp. tuberosa – (Eastern United States)
Common names
Common names include butterfly weed,[6] Canada root, chieger flower,[6] chiggerflower, fluxroot, Indian paintbrush, Indian posy, orange milkweed, orange root,[7] orange Swallow-wort, pleurisy root,[6] silky swallow-wort, tuber root, yellow milkweed, white-root, windroot, butterfly love, butterflyweed, and butterfly milkweed.[8]
This plant favors dry, sand or gravel soil, but has also been reported on stream margins. It requires full sun.
Ecology
Most easily propagated by seed. The primary pollinators are bees and wasps, rather than butterflies.[9] Sown outdoors after frost, a plant will flower and produce seed in the third year. It is difficult to transplant once established, as it has a deep, woody taproot.[10][11]
A. tuberosa is a larval food plant of the queen and monarch butterflies, as well as the dogbane tiger moth, milkweed tussock moth, and the unexpected cycnia.[3][12] Because of its rough leaves and trichomes, it is not a preferred host plant of the monarch butterfly but caterpillars can be reared on it successfully.[13][14][15] Further, it is one of the very lowest Asclepias species in cardenolide content, making it a poor source of protection from bird predation and parasite virulence and perhaps contributing to its lack of attractiveness to egg-laying monarchs.[16]
Cultivation
Butterfly weed is frequently grown in gardens for its showy orange flowers which are especially attractive to bees, though also visited by hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies.[17][18] It is easily grown from seeds and is difficult to transplant due to the size of its roots.[19] Grown from seed plants will take about two to three years to reach flowering size in average conditions.[17] The seeds do not require stratification and can be immediately planted, though in commercial growing they are generally moist stratified at 5 °C for 30–60 days because this increases the germination rate.[20][21][22] For other milkweeds a thin layer of mulch a layer 1–2 cm thick increases the germination rate, though specific research on butterfly weed is lacking.[22]
Butterfly weed has few serious pest or disease problems. It is susceptible to crown rot if planted in poorly drained or too constantly moist locations.[17] It is hardy in USDA zones 3–9.[19]
Native Americans and European pioneers used the boiled roots to treat diarrhea and respiratory illnesses.[25] The young seed pods were used as food after being boiled in several changes of water.[25] The seed pod down was spun and used to make candle wicks.[25]
^Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 138.
^Fishbein, M., and D.L. Venable. 1996. Diversity and change in the effective pollinators of Asclepias tuberosa. Ecology 77:1061-1073.
^Loewer, Peter 'Native Perennials For the Southeast' Cool Springs Press. Nashville, Tenn. 2005 ISBN1-59186-121-7
^Druse, Ken 'Making More Plants The Science, Art, and Joy of Propagation' Abrams. New York, NY. 2012 ISBN0-517-70787-X
^Schillo, Rebecca (2011). Cummings, Nina (ed.). "Native Landscaping Takes Root in Chicago". In the Field. The Field Museum: 13.
^Pocius, Victoria M.; Debinski, Diane M.; Pleasants, John M.; Bidne, Keith G.; Hellmich, Richard L. (January 8, 2018). "Monarch butterflies do not place all of their eggs in one basket: oviposition on nine Midwestern milkweed species". Ecosphere. 9 (1). Ecological Society of America (ESA): 1–13. Bibcode:2018Ecosp...9E2064P. doi:10.1002/ecs2.2064. In our study, the least preferred milkweed species A. tuberosa (no choice; Fig. 2) and A. verticillata (choice; Fig. 3A) both have low cardenolide levels recorded in the literature (Roeske et al. 1976, Agrawal et al. 2009, 2015, Rasmann and Agrawal 2011), .... Females may be able to sense these chemical differences by dabbing their ovipositor on the underside of a leaf prior to oviposition (Zalucki et al. , Arikawa ). Additionally, A. tuberosa has a layer of trichomes, which may inhibit oviposition or decrease a female's ability to sense leaf chemicals.
^Butterfly Society of Virginia (2019). "Growing Milkweed". Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2023. I've grown butterfly weed, swamp milkweed, Asclepias currassavica (bloodflower), Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed), and Asclepias verticillata (whorled milkweed). I've found that butterfly weed is the least favorite of my Monarch guests in my Virginia Beach garden for laying eggs (perhaps the leaves are tougher?)
^(1) "Milkweeds (mostly Asclepias spp.)". Alonso Abugattas Shares Native Plant Picks for Wildlife. Mid-Atlantic Gardener. 2016. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2020. And if you have hot, dry conditions in your yard, try Butterflyweed (A. tuberosa). .... It's the least favored by Monarch caterpillars because it has very little toxin (cardiac glycosides) in its leaves. (2) Abugattas, Alonzo (January 3, 2017). "Monarch Way Stations". Capital Naturalist. Archived from the original on June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2017 – via Blogger. (A. tuberosa) is the least favored by monarch caterpillars .... because it has very little toxin (cardiac glycosides) in its leaves, ..... (3) "Butterfly Weed: Asclepias tuberosa"(PDF). Becker County, Minnesota: Becker Soil and Water Conservation District. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020. Unlike other milkweeds, this plant has a clear sap, and the level of toxic cardiac glycosides is consistently low (although other toxic compounds may be present).. (4) Mikkelsen, Lauge Hjorth; Hamoudi, Hassan; Altuntas Gül, Cigdem; Heegaard, Steffen (2017). "Corneal Toxicity Following Exposure to Asclepias tuberosa". The Open Ophthalmology Journal. 11. Bentham Science Publishers: 1–4. doi:10.2174/1874364101711010001. PMC5362972. PMID28400886. The latex of A. tuberosa seems to be different from other members of the Asclepias family due to the fact that even though cardenolides are normally considered present in Asclepias species, these cardenolides have not been found in A. tuberosa. Instead some unique pregnane glycosides are found in A. tuberosa. (5) Warashina, Tsutomu; Noro, Tadataka (February 2010). "8,12;8,20-Diepoxy-8,14-secopregnane Glycosides from the Aerial Parts of Asclepias tuberosa". Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 58 (2). Pharmaceutical Society of Japan: 172–179. doi:10.1248/cpb.58.172. PMID20118575. Retrieved September 11, 2020. Though cardenolides are considered to be characteristic constituents of Asclepias spp. together with pregnane glycosides, we could find no cardenolides in the more hydrophobic fraction of the methanol extract of the aerial parts of A. tuberosa, the same as previously. (6) Pocius, Victoria M.; Debinski, Diane M.; Pleasants, John M.; Bidne, Keith G.; Hellmich, Richard L. (January 8, 2018). "Monarch butterflies do not place all of their eggs in one basket: oviposition on nine Midwestern milkweed species". Ecosphere. 9 (1). Ecological Society of America (ESA): 1–13. Bibcode:2018Ecosp...9E2064P. doi:10.1002/ecs2.2064. In our study, the least preferred milkweed species A. tuberosa (no choice; Fig. 2) and A. verticillata (choice; Fig. 3A) both have low cardenolide levels recorded in the literature (Roeske et al. 1976, Agrawal et al. 2009, 2015, Rasmann and Agrawal 2011)
^ abLandis, Thomas D.; Dumroese, R. Kasten (2015). "Propagating Native Milkweeds for Restoring Monarch Butterfly Habitat"(PDF). International Plant Propagators' Society, Combined Proceedings (2014). 64: 302. Archived(PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021 – via United States Department of Agriculture: United States Forest Service. Many sources of milkweed seeds require stratification (cold, moist treatment) before sowing. .... Butterfly milkweed (A. tuberosa) germination increased from 29 to 48 to 62% as stratification duration increased from 0 to 30 to 60 days, respectively (Bir, 1986).
Mikkelsen, Lauge Hjorth; Hamoudi, Hassan; Altuntas Gül, Cigdem; Heegaard, Steffen (2017). "Corneal Toxicity Following Exposure to Asclepias tuberosa". The Open Ophthalmology Journal. 11. Bentham Science Publishers: 1–4. doi:10.2174/1874364101711010001. PMC5362972. PMID28400886. The latex of A. tuberosa seems to be different from other members of the Asclepias family due to the fact that even though cardenolides are normally considered present in Asclepias species, these cardenolides have not been found in A. tuberosa. Instead some unique pregnane glycosides are found in A. tuberosa.
Stevens, Michelle. "Plant guide for Butterfly Milkweed: Asclepias tuberosa L."(PDF). United States Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conservation Service: National Plant Data Center. Archived(PDF) from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021. Milkweed species, as a group, are known to contain cardiac glycosides that are poisonous both to humans and to livestock, as well as other substances that may account for their medicinal effect. Resinoids, glycosides, and a small amount of alkaloids are present in all parts of the plant. Symptoms of poisoning by the cardiac glycosides include dullness, weakness, bloating, inability to stand or walk, high body temperature, rapid and weak pulse, difficulty breathing, dilated pupils, spasms, and coma.
Mikkelsen, Lauge Hjorth; Hamoudi, Hassan; Altuntas Gül, Cigdem; Heegaard, Steffen (2017). "Corneal Toxicity Following Exposure to Asclepias tuberosa". The Open Ophthalmology Journal. 11. Bentham Science Publishers: 1–4. doi:10.2174/1874364101711010001. PMC5362972. PMID28400886. The latex of A. tuberosa seems to be different from other members of the Asclepias family due to the fact that even though cardenolides are normally considered present in Asclepias species, these cardenolides have not been found in A. tuberosa. Instead some unique pregnane glycosides are found in A. tuberosa.
