FREE: Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

The listing, Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) has ended.

you get 1 seed pod! at least 50 seeds!

Butterfly milkweed seeds Attracts Butterflies

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Description:
Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)grows 1-3 feet tall and has flat-topped clusters of orange flowers. Unlike many other flowers that have two whorls, milkweeds have three whorled flowers. The inner whorl is known as the corolla, above that is the corona, and the outermost whorl of sepals is the calyx. The leaves of the butterfly milkweed are stiff and lance-shaped. They differ from all other milkweeds in that they are alternate and do not produce milky white sap. Butterfly milkweed is a perennial herb and flowers throughout June and August. The flowers are followed by green spindle-shaped pods that open and release silky tufted seeds that are wind dispersed.

Other Information: All milkweeds are poisonous if ingested, and the milky sap is a skin irritant.
Butterfly milkweed is poisonous if ingested in large quantities. Historically this plant was used to treat lung inflammations by increasing fluidity of mucus in the lungs and bronchial tubes, hence the common name pleurisy root. Butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted to the bright orange flowers of butterfly milkweed and feed on the nectar. Adult female monarch butterflies lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. When the larvae hatch, they feed exclusively on milkweed leaves. The larvae develop into caterpillars with black, white and yellow stripes. These caterpillars then go into the pupa stage and shortly after emerge as monarch butterflies. Both the caterpillars and butterflies are poisonous to predators because they have taken in the toxins of the milkweed plant. These butterflies then migrate south to Florida, Texas, and Mexico and return again the following spring.

Hardy: zones 5-11
Blooms first year from seed.
If you leave pods they reseed & they will come back..

http://www.nababutterfly.com/milkweed_orange.html