Butterfly Weed – Asclepias tuberosa

Common Name: Butterfly Weed, Milkweed, Silkweed, Pleurisy-Root, Chieger Flower

Botanical Name: Asclepias tuberosa, a-SKLAY-pee-us tew-be-RO-sa

Decorative Life: From 5-12 days.

Flower Color: Orange, Red, Yellow

Availability: Fall, Summer, Winter

Harvest when almost fully open.

• Named for Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine. Long known for its medicinal properties associated with the roots.
• Many flowers occur at the ends of leafy stems in inflorescences called cymes.
• Unlike most other members of the milkweed family, this species does not possess a milky sap so stem plugging by this sap is not a problem.

The cultivar ‘Beatrix’ is a particularly beautiful variety, consisting of much larger orange flowers than ‘Tuberosa’. (Pete and Jan Brobbel)