HEADLINES:  

Kingdom Plantae Division Magnoliophyta Class Magnoliopsida Order Gentianales Family Apocynaceae Genus Asclepias Species A. tuberosa Binomial name Asclepias tuberosa

The other common names for the herb Pleurisy root are Butterfly Weed, Canada Root, Silkweed, Tuber Root, Chigger weed and Wind Root.

Pleurisy Root (asclepias tuberose) as the name suggests is used for acute respiratory infection. The plant is better known as butterfly weed or butterfly milkweed, as its showy reddish-orange flowers attract butterflies. In the past, pleurisy was used for pulmonary conditions, such as asthma and bronchitis. From early days this Asclepias has been regarded as a valuable medicinal plant. It is one of the most important of the indigenous American remedies, and until lately was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. From early days this member of the milkweed family has been regarded as a valuable medicinal plant, one of the most important of the indigenous American remedies. The scientific name refers to the Greek god of medicine, Asclepius.

Stems are one to two feet high, erect, branched at the top, round, and very hairy; they lack the milky juice so characteristic of the family. Leaves alternate, oblong to lance-shaped, acute or sometimes obtuse at apex, entire, hairy on both sides, sessile or with very short petioles. Flowers in large flat-topped umbels terminating stem and branches, brilliant orange in colour; butterflies of many kinds are nearly always hovering about them; the five lower segments of the corolla are reflexed and the crown above it has five small, spreading hoods, each of which has within it a slender, incurving horn. Stamens five, inserted on the base of the corolla, the filaments forming a tube which encloses the pistil, the anthers adherent to the stigma; ovaries two, with very short styles connected at the summit by the disk-like stigma. The fruits are twin follicles, three to five inches long, gray-hairy, pointed at both ends, their pedicels so bent as to hold them nearly erect. Seeds flat, margined, brown, bearing a coma or tuft of long, silky hairs. Flowers are a nectar source for many butterflies and leaves are a food source for monarch butterfly larvae.

Though pleurisy root is a native of North America it is widely distributed throughout Ontario to Minnesota, southward to Florida, Texas, and Arizona.

Pleurisy root thrives best in dry fields and pastures. Thus butterfly weed which is a North American native perennial occurs in dry/rocky open woods, glades, prairies, fields and roadsides.

Pleurisy root is native to the southern US. The root is unearthed in spring. This is one of the prettiest medicinals you can grow but which cannot be improved upon by breeding. Pleurisy root is drought tolerant and they should be collected in autumn, when well stored with sustenance for the winter. Plant 1 foot apart and grow to 2 feet tall. Persistently deprive the tuberous roots of green growth above ground and they will at length wither and die. Begin cutting before the first flowers mature, and repeat as often as new shoots put forth. Dry salt applied to the shorn surfaces will check new growth. The root is unearthed in spring. Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Drought tolerant. Does well in poor, dry soils. New growth tends to emerge late in the spring. Plants are easily grown from seed, but are somewhat slow to establish and may take 2-3 years to produce flowers. Mature plants may freely self-seed in the landscape if seed pods are not removed prior to splitting open. Butterfly weed does not transplant well due to its deep taproot, and is probably best left undisturbed once established.

The corymbs of deep yellow and orange flowers of the pleurisy root are in bloom between June to September.

No serious insect or disease problems. Crown rot can be a problem in wet, poorly drained soils. Susceptible to rust and leaf spot.

The roots and the rhizomes of the pleurisy plant are the most commonly used part of the plant for its commercial and medicinal applications.

• Pleurisy root is used to treat lung disorder, pain when breathing, pneumonia, chest congestion, colds, flu, bronchitis, etc.


• Pleurisy root is also used to promote sweating and opening of the lung capillaries, allowing more moisture to enter the lungs to thin the mucus, which can then be expelled more easily.


• It acts as an antispasmodic, diaphoretic, expectorant, tonic, carminative and mildly cathartic.


• It has also been used with great advantage in diarrhoea, dysentery and acute and chronic rheumatism, in low typhoid states and in eczema.


• It is claimed that the drug may be employed with benefit in flatulent colic and indigestion, but in these conditions it is rarely used.


• Pleurisy also acts as an emetic and purgative.


• It is often combined with Angelica and Sassafras for producing perspiration in fever and pleurisy and for equalizing the circulation of the blood.


• Constituents in pleurisy mimic the action of estrogen in the body, making the herb useful specifically in bringing on delayed menstruation, or for use as an aborifacient.


• The roots of this plant were ground into a powder and either brewed as a tea or made into poultices for open wounds and sores.


• Consumption of the tea increases bronchial dilation and drainage of the lymph system.

The Indians of several regions brewed a tea from the leaves to induce vomiting in certain rituals. The Asclepias were named for Aesculapius, who is said to have learned his knowledge of healing from an apprenticeship to Cheiron, the centaur who's herbal and medical skills came directly from Apollo.