Butterfly Weed

Asclepias tuberosa  is near the very top of my list of favorite native perennials. Because of its long taproot, it survives drought  but is hard to transplant. This means that you are probably not going to find a gallon of it in the Kmart garden center. The best bet is to buy the seeds and be patient. In a year or two you can have pretty large clump. It is a favorite for butterflies and makes a nice seedpod in the fall. This year I finally have enough that I will not mind cutting a few reddish-orange clusters to bring inside.

The photographed page is from the Golden Nature Guide series, "Flowers: A Guide to Familiar American Wildflowers" published in 1964.