Orange Milkweed
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
Photographed on Pine Mountain in the Pine Mountain Wilderness Area, Yavapai Co., Arizona, USA. 07 June 2009.
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FLOWERS: Brilliant orange or sometimes more yellow flowers in flat
topped clusters at top of plant. Avidly visited by butterflies giving this
plant another common name Butterfly Milk-Weed.
LEAVES: Dark green, elongate to elliptic leaves are alternate or opposite
on the stems. The leaf margins are smooth. Milky, toxic sap emerges at once
from breaks in stems or leaves.
PERENNIAL: One to several herbaceous stems grow in a clump. Most plants
are less than one meter tall.
RANGE: The range of this plant in Arizona's ponderosa woodlands is spotty
and may have been augmented by human settlers transplanting efforts. This plant
ranges through eastern North America where it is fairly common in semi-open
woodlands and prairie situations.
FRUIT: Pairs of pods develop and are oriented upwards. At maturity the
pods split open to reveal many comose seeds.
UNARMED. Without thorns, but sap can be an irritant.
Apocynaceae (incl. Asclepiadaceae) -- Milkweed Family
More Information:
- Southwest Environmental Information Network
- Missouri Plants
- USDA Plant Profile
- ITIS Taxonomic Report
- Google Images
- Google Scholar Literature Search