BUTTERFLY WEED

also called Pleurisy Root, Orangeroot, or Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), North American plant of the milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae), a stout, rough-haired perennial with long horizontal roots. The leafy, erect, somewhat branching stem is about 0.3 to 0.9 metre (1 to 3 feet) tall. In midsummer it bears numerous clusters of bright-orange flowers. Unlike most milkweeds, this plant has a scanty milky juice. It is native to dry fields and is often planted in wild gardens or grown as a border plant.