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Butterfly weed is a 2 ft (0.6 m) tall herbaceous perennial that dies back in winter and re-sprouts from its underground tuber each spring. The brilliant orange or red flower clusters appear in midsummer. These are followed by attractive green pods that open to release silky "parachutes" to drift away on autumn winds. Butterfly weed is unique among milkweeds in that the sap is not milky and the leaves are not opposite. Many flowers have an inner whorl of petals, called the corolla, and an outer whorl of sepals, called the calyx. These are the showy, colorful parts of a typical flower. The milkweeds are special: they have a third whorl above the corolla called the corona.
Location
Culture
Plant butterfly weed in mixed borders, meadows and natural areas. Butterfly weed is slow to emerge in spring, so you may want to mark where they are.
Features The roots of butterfly weed are said to increase fluidity of mucus in lungs and bronchial tubes, hence the common name, pleurisy root.
Steve Christman 03/01/98; updated 11/27/1999, 02/24/00, 05/21/03, 9/13/03
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