Flora of North America species comparison

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Asclepias cordifolia

Asclepias meadii
Asclepias cordifolia

heart-leaf milkweed, purple milkweed

Mead's milkweed
Habit Herbs. Herbs.
Stems

1–20, ascending to spreading, unbranched, 25–100 cm, glabrous, glaucous, rhizomes absent.

1 (rarely 2), erect, unbranched, 20–80 cm, glabrous, glaucous, rhizomatous.
Leaves

opposite, sessile, stipular colleters absent;

blade ovate to lanceolate, 3.5–11 × 1.8–8 cm, chartaceous, base cordate, clasping, margins entire, apex acute, mucronate, venation brochidodromous to eucamptodromous, surfaces glabrous, glaucous, margins minutely ciliate, laminar colleters absent.

opposite, sessile, with 1 stipular colleter on each side of petiole;

blade ovate to lanceolate, 4.5–10 × 1–5 cm, chartaceous, base rounded to obtuse, margins entire, apex acute, venation brochidodromous, surfaces glabrous, glaucous, margins inconspicuously ciliate, laminar colleters absent.
Inflorescences

terminal, branched, sometimes also extra-axillary at upper nodes, pedunculate, 5–20-flowered;

peduncle 0.3–6.5 cm, apically sparsely pilose to glabrate, with few bracts.

terminal, rarely branched, pedunculate, 7–19-flowered;

peduncle (0–)3–10 cm, sparsely pilosulous to glabrate, glaucous, with 1 caducous bract at the base of each pedicel.
Pedicels

16–37 mm, sparsely pilose.

11–20 mm, pilosulous.
Flowers

erect to pendent;

calyx lobes elliptic to lanceolate, 3–5 mm, apex acute, pilose;

corolla red-violet, lobes reflexed with spreading tips, oval, 6–7 mm, apex acute, glabrous;

gynostegial column 1–1.5 mm;

fused anthers brown, cylindric, 1.5–2 mm, wings right-triangular, open at tip, apical appendages deltoid;

corona segments white, tinged pink to red-violet at base, sessile, tubular, 2–3 mm, exceeded by style apex, base saccate, apex truncate, oblique, glabrous, internal appendage absent;

style apex shallowly depressed, pink to red-violet.

pendent;

calyx lobes narrowly lanceolate, 4–5 mm, apex acute, pilosulous;

corolla green to greenish cream, sometimes tinged red, lobes reflexed with spreading tips, oval, 7–9 mm, apex acute, glabrous;

gynostegial column 1.5–1.8 mm, fused anthers green, truncately obconic, 2–2.5 mm, wings right-triangular, closed, apical appendages ovate;

corona segments green to yellowish green or greenish cream, sessile, conduplicate, dorsally rounded, 4–5.5 mm, greatly exceeding style apex, base saccate, apex obtuse, emarginate, slightly flared, glabrous, internal appendage falcate, exserted, sharply inflexed towards style apex, glabrous;

style apex shallowly depressed, green.
Seeds

ovate, 8–9 × 5–7 mm, margin not winged, faces reticulate-rugulose;

coma 3–3.5 cm.

ovate, 6–7 × 4–5 mm, winged, faces coarsely papillose;

coma 3–4.5 cm.
Follicles

erect on upcurved pedicels, lance-ovoid, 7.5–10.5 × 1.5–1.8 cm, apex long-acuminate, smooth, glabrous, glaucous.

erect on upcurved pedicels, narrowly fusiform, 7–14 × 0.9–1.6 cm, apex long-acuminate, smooth to minutely rugulose, puberulent with curved trichomes.
2n

= 22.

Asclepias cordifolia

Asclepias meadii
Phenology Flowering Mar–Jul(–Aug); fruiting Jun–Sep. Flowering May–Jun(–Jul); fruiting Jun–Aug.
Habitat Hill­sides, canyons, ridge tops, streamsides, seeps, basalt, serpentine, gabbro, granite, shale, limestone, talus slopes, gravel, alluvium, oak woodlands, mixed ever­green, douglas-fir, pine, pine-oak, and riparian forests, chaparral, timberline meadows, grasslands. Dry, upland prairies, chert-lime glades.
Elevation 50–2200(–2800) m. [160–7200(–9200) ft.] 100–500 m. [300–1600 ft.]
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
IA; IL; IN; KS; MO; WI
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Fresh leaves and stems of Asclepias cordifolia are often slightly or strongly colored bluish, grayish, or purplish. This is one of the few American species of Asclepias with cavitate corona segments that lack adaxial appendages. Such species were segregated along with diverse African species in Gomphocarpus R. Brown, a polyphyletic segregate (M. Fishbein et al. 2011; D. Chuba et al. 2017). Asclepias cordifolia is a distinctive species unlike any other within its range. It is phylogenetically and geographically isolated, although not highly derived morphologically. In Nevada, A. cordifolia is restricted to the Sierra Nevada, in Carson City, Douglas, and Washoe counties. Its range extends to northern California and southwestern Oregon.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

With respect to historical range reduction and potential threats, Asclepias meadii is the most endangered North American milkweed species and is considered to be of conservation concern in each of the states in which it occurs. Nearly all of the viable populations are now restricted to Missouri and eastern Kansas; many of these are found in hay meadows, in which fruit maturation does not occur. Asclepias meadii is endemic to the highly-impacted tallgrass prairie ecoregion and is thought to be rare as a result of habitat loss. Consequently, concern for the continued existence of this species can be considered emblematic of concern for the tallgrass prairie as a whole. Active recovery efforts have achieved limited success, with newly established populations experiencing high mortality and slow growth of transplants. It has been re-introduced to Indiana and Wisconsin, but long-term survival of these populations is uncertain. The sessile, glaucous leaves and pendent umbels on a long peduncle suggest a diminutive version of A. elata; however, these species do not appear to be closely related (Fishbein et al. 2011). The terminal inflorescence of pendent umbels is unique among tallgrass prairie milkweeds.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 14. Treatment author: Mark Fishbein. FNA vol. 14. Treatment author: Mark Fishbein.
Parent taxa Apocynaceae > Asclepias Apocynaceae > Asclepias
Sibling taxa
A. albicans, A. amplexicaulis, A. angustifolia, A. arenaria, A. asperula, A. brachystephana, A. californica, A. cinerea, A. connivens, A. cryptoceras, A. curassavica, A. curtissii, A. cutleri, A. eastwoodiana, A. elata, A. emoryi, A. engelmanniana, A. eriocarpa, A. erosa, A. exaltata, A. fascicularis, A. feayi, A. hallii, A. hirtella, A. humistrata, A. hypoleuca, A. incarnata, A. involucrata, A. labriformis, A. lanceolata, A. lanuginosa, A. latifolia, A. lemmonii, A. linaria, A. linearis, A. longifolia, A. macrosperma, A. macrotis, A. meadii, A. michauxii, A. nummularia, A. nyctaginifolia, A. obovata, A. oenotheroides, A. ovalifolia, A. pedicellata, A. perennis, A. prostrata, A. pumila, A. purpurascens, A. quadrifolia, A. quinquedentata, A. rubra, A. rusbyi, A. ruthiae, A. sanjuanensis, A. scaposa, A. solanoana, A. speciosa, A. sperryi, A. stenophylla, A. subulata, A. subverticillata, A. sullivantii, A. syriaca, A. texana, A. tomentosa, A. tuberosa, A. uncialis, A. variegata, A. verticillata, A. vestita, A. viridiflora, A. viridis, A. viridula, A. welshii
A. albicans, A. amplexicaulis, A. angustifolia, A. arenaria, A. asperula, A. brachystephana, A. californica, A. cinerea, A. connivens, A. cordifolia, A. cryptoceras, A. curassavica, A. curtissii, A. cutleri, A. eastwoodiana, A. elata, A. emoryi, A. engelmanniana, A. eriocarpa, A. erosa, A. exaltata, A. fascicularis, A. feayi, A. hallii, A. hirtella, A. humistrata, A. hypoleuca, A. incarnata, A. involucrata, A. labriformis, A. lanceolata, A. lanuginosa, A. latifolia, A. lemmonii, A. linaria, A. linearis, A. longifolia, A. macrosperma, A. macrotis, A. michauxii, A. nummularia, A. nyctaginifolia, A. obovata, A. oenotheroides, A. ovalifolia, A. pedicellata, A. perennis, A. prostrata, A. pumila, A. purpurascens, A. quadrifolia, A. quinquedentata, A. rubra, A. rusbyi, A. ruthiae, A. sanjuanensis, A. scaposa, A. solanoana, A. speciosa, A. sperryi, A. stenophylla, A. subulata, A. subverticillata, A. sullivantii, A. syriaca, A. texana, A. tomentosa, A. tuberosa, A. uncialis, A. variegata, A. verticillata, A. vestita, A. viridiflora, A. viridis, A. viridula, A. welshii
Synonyms Acerates cordifolia, Gomphocarpus cordifolius
Name authority (Bentham) Jepson: Fl. W. Calif., 384. (1901) Torrey ex A. Gray: Manual ed. 2, 704. (1856)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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