18 



MISC. PUBLICATION 77, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



BUTTERFLYWEED 



Asclepias tuberosa L. (Fig. 29.) 



Other common names. — Pleurisy-root, Canada-root, Indian posy, orange-root, 

 orange swallowwort, tuberroot, whiteroot, windroot, yellow or orange milkweed. 



Habitat and range. — Butterflyweed nourishes in the open or in pine woods, in 

 dry sandy or gravelly soil, usually along the banks of streams. Its range extends 

 from Ontario and Maine to Minnesota and south to Florida, Texas, and Arizona, 

 but it is found in greatest abundance in the South. 



Description. — This is an erect showy plant from 1 to 2 feet high. The stems 

 are stout and hairy, sometimes branched near the top and bearing many lance- 

 shaped, rather rough leaves from 2 to 6 inches long. The flower clusters which 

 are borne at the ends of the branches consist of numerous oddly shaped orange- 

 colored flowers. The plant is in flower usually from June to September, followed 

 late in the fall by pods from 4 to 5 inches long containing the seeds with their long 

 silky hairs. This plant, unlike the other milkweeds, contains little or no milky 

 juice. The root is large, branching, white, and fleshy. 



Other species. — The roots of the common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca L., which 

 occurs in fields and waste places from Canada to North Carolina and Kansas, and 

 the swamp milkweed, A. incarnata L., found in swamps from Canada to Tennessee 

 and Kansas, are also used to some extent. Both of these species contain a milky 

 juice. The former has pinkish-purple flowers, while those of the latter are flesh 

 or rose colored. 



Part used. — The roots of the several species, collected in autumn. In limited 

 demand only. 



Figure 29. — Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) 



Figure 



-Butternut (Juglans cinereu) 



BUTTERNUT 



Juglans cinerea L. (Fig. 30.) 



Other common names. — Juglans, white walnut, lemon walnut, oil nut. 



Habitat and range. — The butternut tree is of common occurrence in rich 

 woods from New Brunswick to North Dakota and south to Georgia, Mississippi, 

 and Arkansas. 



Description. — The butternut tree is usually from 30 to 50 feet in height and 

 when old has a thick, rough, brownish gray, furrowed bark. The twigs, leaf 

 stems, and leaflets, especially in the early stages of growth, are furnished with 

 sticky hairs. The leaves are composed of from 11 to 17 leaflets, each from 2 to 

 3 inches long. The flowers are produced in May at the same time as the leaves, 

 the male flowers borne in catkins from 3 to 5 inches in length and the female 

 flowers in clusters of 6 to 8 flowers each. The edible unit, which ripens in Octo- 



