butterfly weed
Family
IteaceaeScientific Name
Itea lutea
Other Common Names:
orange milkweed
butterfly milkweed
chigger weed
Habit
forb/herb
Leaves
The leaves are alternate, simple, crowded, lance-shaped, 5-10 cm long, shiny green, smooth above and velvety beneath.
Identifying Characteristics
Butterfly milkweed grows on sandy, loamy, or rocky limestone soils of prairies, open woodlands, roadsides, and disturbed areas similar to other milkweed species. Milkweed Family (Asclepiadaceae). Asclepias tuberosa is a perennial herb 3-9 dm tall with woody rootstocks. According to Kelly Kindscher (1992), "Asclepias comes from the name of the Greek god of medicine, Asklepios. The species name, tuberosa, means full of swellings or knobs, referring to the enlarged root system." Butterfly milkweed stems are hairy, erect, and grow in numerous clumps. There is a watery sap within the stems and leaves.
Flower Seed Head
The flowers are in showy, rounded to flat-topped groups near the ends of branches. Each flower has 5 petals, bent downward, orange to red or sometimes yellow, topped by a crown of 5 erect hoods, each one containing a short horn.
Seed Fruit
Fruits are hairy, spindle-shaped pods 8-15 cm long. The numerous seeds each have a tuft of long white hairs at the tip.
Where Found
Milkweeds grow in clumps beside roadways, on abandoned farmlands, and in other open areas throughout the United States
Growth Habit
woody bush or tree
Thorns or Spines
not present
Approximate Flower Diameter
pencil
Dominant Flower Color
Varies:
yellow,
red,
orange
Flower Symmetry
radial symmetery
Leaf Hairs
has hairs
Leaf Arrangement
alternate
Leaf Margin
entire
Leaf Structure
simple
Leaf Stalk
shorter than leaf
Stem Hairs
has hairs
Stem Cross Section
round or oval
Milky Sap
not present
Root Structure
Varies:
taproot,
rhizomes present
Life Cycle
perennial
Ochrea
not present
Plant Type
Herb