Plant · P-1058

Butterfly Weed

Asclepias tuberosa

An upright, clump-forming perennial wildflower that reaches one to two and a half feet tall, with narrow lance-shaped leaves on hairy stems and, unlike most of its genus, a clear rather than milky sap when the stem is broken. Clusters of vivid orange to yellow-orange flowers bloom from late spring through summer and draw butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators in large numbers. It grows from a deep taproot that makes an established plant resent transplanting, and self-sows readily if its seed pods are left to mature and split open.