Butterfly Weed

Butterfly Weed, or Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) is sometimes called a Chigger Flower around these parts.
These bright orange flowers appear in clusters atop a hairy stem with leaves that are dark green, oblong and alternate. They often grow as high as 90 cm and can be found across the USA and Canada in dry fields and roadsides. Native Americans used the roots of this plant to treat pleurisy and other pulmonary ailments – ref: National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers.

Photographed along the banks of the Tallulah Falls lake at TF state park, Georgia.

Olympus E-3, Sigma 105 mm f/2.8 macro; 1/50sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

Copyright © Richard G. Witham 2009 all rights reserved.
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