Asclepias tuberosa

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Asclepias tuberosa
Asclepias tuberosa AFP.jpg
Photo by the Atlas of Florida Plants Database
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicots
Order: Gentianales
Family: Asclepiadacea
Genus: Asclepias
Species: A. tuberosa
Binomial name
Asclepias tuberosa
(L) Brittonex Vail
ASCL TUBE DIST.JPG
Natural range of Asclepias tuberosa from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common Names: midwestern butterfly-weed; sandhills butterfly-weed; common butterfly-weed;[1] butterfly milkweed; Rolfs' milkweed[2]

Taxonomic Notes

Varieties: A. tuberosa var. interior; A. tuberosa var. rolfsii; A. tuberosa var. tuberosa[1]
Synonyms: A. rolfsii; A. decumbens[1]

Description

Asclepias tuberosa is a dioecious perennial forb/herb.[2] Flowers can be a yellow to yellowish orange or a deep-orange to reddish.[1]

Distribution

This species is found from Quebec and Maine, westward to Ontario and Minnesota, southwestward to South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and California, and southward to central Texas, the Gulf Coast, and peninsular Florida.[2]

Ecology

Habitat

A. tuberosa occurs in dry forests, roadbanks, sandhills, woodland margins, roadsides, and pastures.[1]

Phenology

In the southeastern and mid-Atlantic United States, A. tuberosa flowers from May through September and fruits from August through September.[1]

Use by animals

This species composes 2-5% of the diet of some large mammals and terrestrial birds.[3]

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Weakley AS (2015) Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 USDA NRCS (2016) The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 13 February 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
  3. Miller JH, Miller KV (1999) Forest plants of the southeast and their wildlife uses. Southern Weed Science Society.