Species: Asclepias tuberosa, Butterfly Weed, Butterfly Milkweed

Family: Asclepiadaceae

Plant description: Alternate leaves, clear sap

Habitat: Dry fields, roadsides, woodland margins

Range: Most of US, excluding Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, N. Dakota

Bloom Period: May to August

Human Uses: Ornamental cultivars

Ecology: Monarch Butterfly host plant

Status: Possibly Extirpated: Maine; Endangered: New Hampshire; Exploitably Vulnerable: New York; Threatened: Vermont

Ascelpias tuberosa, Durham NC July 25 2004