Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) Seed Release

August 25^th, 2012. It’s not often that we seed a release of seeds from milkweeds that is not affected by breezes. Usually the wind will blow the seeds away as they are released. On this occasion, however, we spotted seeds being released from the pod of a Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) in a calm atmosphere.

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed, Common Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root) is native to the United States, where it’s found in states southeast of a line from Maine to Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah to New Mexico and California. In Georgia, it’s found in many counties throughout the state.

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Identification resources:

- Southeastern Flora: Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed)

 - Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Asclepias tuberosa (Common Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root,Wind Root, Butterfly Milkweed)

Distribution Map:

- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed)

- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Asclepias tuberosa