SimplePlant

Apocynaceae

Butterfly milkweed

Asclepias tuberosa L.

Family
Apocynaceae
Genus
Asclepias

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Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
FlowerPhoto: Michael J. Papay, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (15)
Arabic
صقلاب درني
arz
صقلاب درنى
Cherokee
ᎫᎩ
Chinese
块根马利筋, 柳葉馬利筋, 柳叶马利筋, 蝴蝶花马利筋
Dutch
Knolzijdeplant
English
Butterfly milkweed, Butterfly weed, Butterflyweed
German
Knollige Seidenpflanze, Orangene Seidenpflanze
Greek
Ασκληπιάδα
Japanese
ヤナギトウワタ
Latvian
Bumbuļu asklēpija
nv
Chʼil abeʼéntsxaaí
Persian
علف پروانه
Russian
Ваточник клубненосный, Ваточник туберозовый
Spanish
Acerates decumbens, Acerates decumbens var. erecta, Planta de Asclepio
Swedish
Orange sidenört

Synonyms

  • Asclepias tuberosa f. tuberosa
  • Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa

Flowers

In flower
May to August (from 11,435 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Flower colour
orange (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

More in Asclepias

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.