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El Paso County Wildflower Project - Butterfly Milkweed

Butterfly Milkweed

Bloom Season: May - August

Habitat: thrives in dry, sunny, and rocky or sandy habitats, making it perfectly adapted to the dry, open foothills and plains of the Front Range

Photography Notes: Susceptible to a breeze

Credits: Bob Falcone, 21 June

Asclepias tuberosa, commonly known as butterfly weed, is a species of milkweed native to eastern and southwestern North America.[3] It is commonly known as butterfly weed because of the butterflies that are attracted to the plant by its color and its copious production of nectar.[4]

It is a perennial plant growing to 0.3–1 m (1–3+1⁄2 ft) tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 3–12 cm (1+1⁄4–4+3⁄4 in) long,[5] and 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) broad.

Image Credit: Coming Soon

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Butterfly Milkweed (native) is one of many wildflowers featured in the El Paso CO Wildflower Project, a community-built field guide documenting the wildflowers of El Paso County, Colorado.