Asclepias curtissii
Asclepias connivens
Curtiss' milkweed
large-flower milkweed
1, erect, often purplish, sometimes branched in inflorescence, 15–100 cm, puberulent with curved trichomes, not glaucous, rhizomes absent.
1, erect, unbranched (rarely branched), 25–90 cm, minutely puberulent with curved trichomes or pilose to glabrate, not glaucous, rhizomes absent.
opposite, petiolate, with 1 or 2 stipular colleters on each side of petiole;
petiole 4–7 mm, puberulent with curved trichomes;
blade oblong, elliptic, or oval to obovate, oblanceolate, ovate, or lanceolate, 1.8–5 × 0.5–2.5 cm, chartaceous, base obtuse to cuneate or rounded, margins entire, apex truncate to emarginate or acute, mucronate, venation brochidodromous to eucamptodromous, surfaces sparsely puberulent on midvein with curved trichomes, margins inconspicuously ciliate to glabrate, 2–6 laminar colleters.
opposite, sessile or petiolate, with 1 or 2 stipular colleters on each side of petiole;
petiole 0–1 mm, puberulent with curved trichomes to glabrate;
blade narrowly elliptic to linear or oblanceolate, 2.5–8 × 0.3–2.5 cm, chartaceous, base cuneate, margins entire, apex acute to rounded, mucronate, venation brochidodromous, surfaces sparsely pilose to glabrate, midvein puberulent with curved trichomes to glabrate, margins ciliate, 0–6 laminar colleters.
terminal and extra-axillary at upper nodes, sessile or pedunculate, 15–45-flowered;
peduncle 0–4 cm, puberulent on 1 side with curved trichomes, with 1 caducous bract at the base of each pedicel.
terminal, sometimes branched, and extra-axillary at upper nodes, pedunculate, 4–8-flowered;
peduncle 0.9–6 cm, densely puberulent with curved trichomes, with 1 caducous bract at the base of each pedicel.
10–14 mm, sparsely puberulent with curved trichomes.
10–20 mm, densely puberulent with curved trichomes.
erect;
calyx lobes lanceolate, 2–3 mm, apex acute, glabrous;
corolla green with bronze or purplish tinge, lobes reflexed with spreading tips, elliptic, 4–5 mm, apex acute, glabrous;
gynostegial column 0.5–1 mm;
fused anthers green, obconic, 1–1.5 mm, wings broadly triangular, widest at middle, closed, apical appendages ovate;
corona segments white with a green and/or purple dorsal midline, sessile, conduplicate and dorsally flattened, 5–6 mm, greatly exceeding style apex, apex attenuate, glabrous, internal appendage falcate, exserted, sharply inflexed over style apex, glabrous;
style apex shallowly depressed, green to cream.
spreading to pendent;
calyx lobes lanceolate, 4–6 mm, apex acute, sparsely pilosulous;
corollas green, sometimes tinged brown at apex, lobes reflexed with spreading tips, elliptic, 10–13 mm, apex acute to obtuse, sometimes emarginate, glabrous;
gynostegial column 1–1.5 mm;
fused anthers green, obconic, 3–3.5 mm, wings narrowly right-triangular, distended at base, closed, apical appendages oval;
corona segments cream to pale green, stipitate, clavate, incurved, 8–10 mm, greatly exceeding style apex, apex rounded, glabrous, internal appendage a hidden crest, glabrous, apices of the 5 segments sometimes connivent;
style apex depressed, green.
ovate, 8–9 × 5–6 mm, margin winged, erose, faces sparsely papillose;
coma 3.5–4 cm.
ovate, 7–9 × 5–6 mm, margin winged, faces minutely and sparsely rugulose;
coma 3–3.5 cm.
erect on upcurved pedicels, fusiform, 8–10.5 × 0.8–1.5 cm, apex long-acuminate, smooth, puberulent with curved trichomes.
erect on upcurved pedicels, fusiform, 11.5–15 × 0.5–1.4 cm, apex long-attenuate, smooth, minutely pilosulous.
Asclepias curtissii
Asclepias connivens
Asclepias curtissii is endemic to white-sand substrates at interior and coastal sites on the Florida peninsula. Although the species is not considered to face imminent threat of extirpation, the scrub habitats in which it is found have been, and continue to be, heavily impacted by development. Asclepias curtissii cannot be mistaken for any other milkweed in its range when in flower; however, it occurs in the same habitats as A. tomentosa, and these species overlap considerably in vegetative features. The leaves of A. curtissii can be distinguished from those of A. tomentosa by trichomes limited to the midvein (versus sparsely to densely puberulent or tomentulose throughout).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Asclepias connivens is a singular species—the large, incurved, clavate corona segments are unlike any others in the genus. With wide leaves and large flowers, A. connivens is more conspicuous than most co-occurring milkweeds, such as A. cinerea, A. feayi, A. pedicellata, and A. viridula. It prefers wet soils and often occurs at the same sites as A. viridula and the red-orange-flowered A. lanceolata. Asclepias connivens barely enters South Carolina in Jasper and Beaufort counties and is considered rare and to be of conservation concern in that state. It has been reported from Mississippi, but there are no specimens from that state, and occurrence there seems unlikely, as A. connivens has not been documented from southwestern Alabama either. It would be interesting to discover what pollinates the large and unusual flower of A. connivens; however, there appear to be no reports of flower visitors to this species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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