Consisting of abright orange cluster of small blossoms on rather leafy, hairy stems, this mid summer-wildflower is one of the most brilliant and showy plants in fields and dry areas. Unlike other members of the milkweed family, the butterfly weed has a non-milky sap. Early pioneers as well as Native Americans chewed its tough root, actually a rhizome, as a cure for pleurisy and other respiratory ailments. Its other name, Pleurisy Root, arises from this usage. The soft downy seeds of this plant were sometimes used instead of feathers in beds and cushions and on hats. Several species of butterfly are pollinators At Owl's Hill, butterfly weed grows on the southwest slope of Haircut Hill. It is more common in eastern Tennessee than it is in the middle part of the state.
