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Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa

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Butterfly Weed

I think this is one of the prettiest Milkweeds - and the butterflies seem to agree. This is one of the few orange wildflowers we see, along with Turk's Cap Lilies, Jewelweed and Flame Azalea.  As with all the other Milkweeds,the flower is somewhat complex. A round, central tube points skyward, while five petals surrounding the central tube are reflexed back and point outwards or towards the ground. The central tube is actually composed of specialized "corona horns", enlarged and thickened filaments of the stamens. The leaves are alternate, long-oval and blunt at the end, smooth on the edges, and stemless or nearly so. You can find Butterfly Weed growing in the drier sunnier locations around Asheville, usually at low elevations in fields or along roadsides. It blooms generally from late June through July.

A note on the nomenclature (naming conventions) on this site: Scientific names and classifications are constantly being argued and changed, and it drives me nuts. Although I use many different sources for knowledge, for naming consistency  I  use the  "Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas" by Radford, Ahles and Bell, 1968 edition. This book is a well-established authority for the plants of our region and I've been using it for years. If for some reason I must use a different source for a particular plant, I will make note of it within the descriptive text. Don't like it? Tough!
 
fdudley@weaversites.com

Fiona Dudley
Weaversites
986 Reems Creek Road
Weaverville NC 28787

828-231-1501


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