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Photo Guide : Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed)

thumb
Flower
(37 K)
thumb
Leaf
(5 K)
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Plant
(37 K)
thumb
Flower
(35 K)

There are two subspecies recognized by Woodson (Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 41:1-211. 1954)
that occur in the Great Plains (although they are of questionable validity):

Asclepias tuberosa interior

  • Perennial herb from a deep, woody root stock
  • 3-9 dm tall
  • leaves mostly alternate, 5-10 cm long, 0.7-2.3 cm wide
  • Flowers: bright orange, rarely red or yellow
  • Habitat: Sandy, loamy, or rocky calcareous soils of prairies, roadsides, & waste places
  • Distribution: MN, e SD, IA, e 1/2 NE, e 2/3 KS, MO, OK, TX; (se Can., NY to MN, SD, s to MS & TX)

Asclepias tuberosa terminalis

  • Perennial herb from a deep, woody root stock
  • 3-9 dm tall
  • leaves mostly alternate, 5-10cm long, 0.7-2.3cm wide
  • Flowers: bright orange, rarely red or yellow
  • Habitat: Sandy prairies and open woodlands
  • Distribution: CO: El Paso, Pueblo, Yuma; MN: Stearns; NM: Union; OK: Cimarron; SD: Fall River; TX: Hutchinson; (MI, WI, CO, s to UT, AZ; n Mex.)
Text taken from:
Great Plains Association, 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas.

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