Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

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Butterfly weed

Habit (mature) · Ragesoss / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Butterfly weed

Asclepias tuberosa

A clump-forming native milkweed with bright orange summer flowers, strong pollinator value, and tolerance for dry sunny sites.

Native: 42 US states + 3 CA provinces

Review: Source-backed

Climate fit: broad (90/100)

Pollinator

Border

Filler

Light

Full sun / Part sun

Water

Low water

Mature size

12-24" tall · 18" apart

Hardy in zones

3a-9b

brutally cold to frosty winters

Summer heat range

Cool-Hot

cool to hot summers Interim Plotwright tier until the plant AHS range is authored.

Native in Illinois

Yes

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Heat and sun protection

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Drainage and aeration

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Transplanting and establishment

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Fertility and feeding

Compost, balanced fertilizer, slow-release plant food, and organic amendments.

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A documented larval host for the Milkweed tussock moth and 1 other species — specialist wildlife that depend on plants like this to reproduce.

Wildlife relationships

Cold hardiness

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Chicago, IL · 1991-2020 average annual coldest day

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7b

Plotwright

Your zone + climate-model shift · SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry)

Well-suited

In plain terms: cold winters — coldest nights typically around -3°F.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

°C

°F

Loading current AHS heat-zone and plant heat-fit data at your coordinates…

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 41 ecoregions — 40 climate-resilient through 2070 · 1 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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Blue Mountains forests

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Chilean Matorral

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Pollination

Self-fertile

Self-fertile in mechanism but requires specialized pollination by large insects. Like other Asclepias, butterfly weed packages pollen in pollinia that get hooked onto bumblebees, large solitary bees, monarch butterflies, and large wasps. Monarch larvae feed on the foliage, making this one of the most important native pollinator plants for monarch conservation.

Plants don't grow alone

Larval host

Specialist

Butterfly

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Larvae feed exclusively on milkweeds (Asclepias spp.); butterfly weed is one of the most-recommended host plants for monarch garden plantings because of its showy orange flowers and drought tolerance.

Larval host

Specialist

Moth

Milkweed tussock moth (Euchaetes egle)

Pollinates

Bee

Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens)

Pollinates

Bee

Eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica)

Nectar forage

Butterfly

Eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

For people

Edible with preparation

Young shoots and immature flower buds have been used as food by some Indigenous peoples of eastern North America, but butterfly weed is much more strongly documented as a traditional medicinal plant ("pleurisy root") than as a food source. Like other Asclepias, the plant contains cardiac glycosides and requires boiling before any food use. Most foragers favor common milkweed (A. syriaca) for food because its edibility is far better-documented and its taste is less acrid.

Edible parts

young-shoots, flower-buds

Toxic parts

mature-leaves, roots, sap

Preparation required

Boil young shoots and flower buds before eating to denature cardenolide glycosides. Do NOT use the root — historically used medicinally but with documented toxicity. Most foragers prefer common milkweed (A. syriaca) for food use.

Lookalike warning

As with other young Asclepias, butterfly weed shoots can be mistaken for dogbane (Apocynum) shoots, which are more toxic. When in doubt, do not harvest.

Foraging context

Wild populations are abundant in dry meadows and prairies across the eastern and central United States; the plant is an important monarch host, so harvest selectively and prefer common milkweed (A. syriaca) for food.

Traditional medicinal use

The root, traditionally called "pleurisy root," was used by the Cherokee, Iroquois, Menominee, and many other Indigenous nations as a medicinal preparation for respiratory complaints. Modern medicinal use of pleurisy root is not recommended without expert guidance — the cardiac-glycoside content makes internal use dangerous, and modern clinical efficacy is not established.

Appears in collections

+5

Collection · 9 plants

Native pollinator border (eastern US)

A continuous-bloom native pollinator strip for eastern North America. Covers spring through frost with host + nectar plants spanning monarchs, native bees, hummingbirds, and specialist Lepidoptera. Little bluestem provides the matrix grass + Hesperiidae host.

Butterfly weed

Common milkweed

Purple coneflower

Wild bergamot

Scarlet bee balm

Little bluestem

Sweet Joe-Pye weed

Swamp sunflower

Smooth blue aster

Sources & citations

Cite this page

For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.

Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa). Retrieved 2026, June 5, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/butterfly-weed

Sources for every fact

Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited — 18 source-backed.

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

University extension service

Backs 17 fields

Identity

Summary

Plant type

Light

Moisture

Hardiness

Heat zone

Size

Spacing

Habit

Design roles

Seasonal interest

Growth stages

Lifecycle

Regional guidance

Success tips

Designer notes

Wikimedia Commons

Photo · CC BY-SA 3.0

Backs 1 field

Image

Community photos

The photos above are our reviewed reference set, curated for accuracy.