Asclepias curtissii
Asclepias engelmanniana
Curtiss' milkweed
Engelmann's milkweed
1, erect, often purplish, sometimes branched in inflorescence, 15–100 cm, puberulent with curved trichomes, not glaucous, rhizomes absent.
1 or 2 (rarely more), erect, sometimes branched, 40–160 cm, glabrous, 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.
alternate, sessile, drooping, with 1 stipular colleter on each side of leaf base;
blade linear, conduplicate, 5–19 × 0.15–0.3 cm, chartaceous, base cuneate, margins entire, apex acute, venation faintly brochidodromous to obscure, surfaces sparsely puberulent with curved trichomes to glabrate, margins ciliate, laminar colleters absent.
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.
extra-axillary, sessile or pedunculate, 14–23-flowered;
peduncle occasionally branched, 0–2 cm, pilosulous or puberulent with curved trichomes, with 1 caducous bract at the base of each pedicel.
10–14 mm, sparsely puberulent with curved trichomes.
8–11 mm, pilose.
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.
erect to spreading;
calyx lobes lanceolate, 3–4 mm, apex acute, pilosulous;
corollas tan to russet abaxially, pale green to greenish cream or ochroleucous to tan adaxially, lobes reflexed with ascending tips, elliptic, 4–5 mm, apex acute, glabrous;
gynostegial column 0.5–1.5 mm;
fused anthers brown, broadly barrel-shaped, 2–2.5 mm, wings crescent-shaped and narrowly open throughout, apical appendages narrowly pandurate, conduplicate, not obscuring corpuscula;
corona segments cream to tan or yellow, sessile, chute-shaped, 2–3 mm, equaling style apex, base saccate and auriculate, apex retuse to nearly truncate, glabrous, internal appendage absent or obscure, glabrous;
style apex depressed, green to yellowish green.
ovate, 8–9 × 5–6 mm, margin winged, erose, faces sparsely papillose;
coma 3.5–4 cm.
ovate, 8–9 × 5–6 mm, margin winged, faces minutely papillose and rugulose;
coma 2–2.5 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, lance-ovoid, 6–10 × 1.2–2 cm, apex long-acuminate, smooth, pilosulous.
Asclepias curtissii
Asclepias engelmanniana
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 engelmanniana is usually a tall herb with drooping leaves and spherical umbels of greenish yellow flowers rising above surrounding grassland plants. In spite of its distinctive appearance, it is quite similar to its close relatives, A. rusbyi and A. stenophylla. The yellowish green coronas, squat flowers, upcurved fruiting pedicels, and drooping leaves distinguish A. engelmanniana from A. stenophylla, which has more slender flowers with creamy coronas, straight pedicels in fruit, and spreading to ascending leaves. Despite ranges with only little overlap and few if any mixed populations, these two species are often confused, especially in the absence of flowers. Compared to its close relative, A. engelmanniana is distributed further west, in mixed- and short-grass prairies. A report of A. engelmanniana from South Dakota has not been confirmed, and reports from Iowa appear to have been based on misidentified specimens of A. stenophylla. Reports from Arkansas are unconfirmed and also very likely to be based on misidentifications. Asclepias engelmanniana is considered to be of conservation concern in Wyoming, where it has been recorded only from Goshen County. Asclepias rusbyi has been inconsistently distinguished from A. engelmanniana (for example, E. Sundell 1994), although the differences elucidated by R. E. Woodson Jr. (1954) are sound. These species are readily distinguished by the characters in the key and appear to have allopatric ranges. Reports of A. engelmanniana from Arizona, western New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, southwestern Colorado, and Sonora, Mexico, all pertain to A. rusbyi.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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