[Illustration: PURPLE MILKWEED: A. purpurascens.] *Poke Milkweed.* _Asclepias phytolaccoides._ Found in moist and shady banks in July. The leafy stalk is not hollow, but very milky, of a close, firm fibre; it is smooth or slightly downy--especially when young; from 2 to 5 feet in height; clear green. The large lower leaves (5 or 6 inches long by 3 inches in width) are oval, pointed at both ends; the upper are narrower; their margins are entire, midribs strong, and texture very thin and fine, downy and pleasant to the touch. In color a clear green, paler beneath, the midrib being pinkish above. They are set on short stems, in pairs, which grow at alternate angles. The flower is large; its oval lobes are very much reversed, and colored a clear light green; the crown tubes are broad, short, and notched at their tips; the horns are long and needle-pointed, they curve, and meet together in the center; these parts are all ivory white, while the little calyx is green. The flowers nod and droop on long, slender, pale foot-stems that hang in a loose cluster on a stout thick stem, which springs from the angle of a side leaf. Sometimes the plant bears more than one of these flower-clusters; it is the most delicate of our common Milkweeds, exceeding even the Four-leaved in fineness, and the ivory white of its flower crown is remarkable for its clarity of hue. [Illustration: POKE MILKWEED: A. phytolaccoides.] *Butterfly Weed.* _Asclepias tuberosa._ *Orange Milkweed.* *Pleurisy Root.* Found in dry pastures and fields in July. The stalk branches often for the flowers; it is leafy, and grows from 2 to 3 feet high, with a strong fibre, its surface is hairy and its color is a strong green, purplish near the foot, and red-orange below the flower-clusters. The juice is not milky. The long narrow leaf is somewhat blunt-pointed at the tip and heart-shaped at the base, with an entire margin, and a strong midrib; its fibre is strong and coarse, the veins showing, and it is hairy underneath and downy above; the color is a full green, much toned with orange. The leaves are set on short stems, and placed near together, alternately, and with an upward inclination. The flower is small and long; the crown is set up high on its slender neck, its hoods short and narrow, and yet somewhat longer than the fine-pointed straight horns,--in color a splendid glowing orange; the narrow, fine-pointed lobes are slightly curling, and bright yellow; the calyx is unobservable. The flowers are set on slender, rather long, light green foot-stems, forming a loose flat-topped cluster; the clusters being arranged in a leafy terminal group. As many as eighteen clusters have been counted upon a single stalk. The color scheme of this plant is especially good; the green betrays the same tawny tone which belongs to the gorgeous flowers. [Illustration: BUTTERFLY WEED: A. tuberosa.]