Asclepias lemmonii
Asclepias feayi
big-leaf milkweed, Lemmon's milkweed
Feay's milkweed, Florida milkweed
1–3, erect to ascending, unbranched, very stout, 100–150 cm, densely hirsute, not glaucous, rhizomes absent(?).
solitary, erect, unbranched (rarely near base), 20–75 cm, minutely puberulent in a line with curved trichomes to glabrate, not glaucous, rhizomes absent.
opposite, petiolate, with 1 stipular colleter on each side of petiole;
petiole 1–5 mm, hirsute;
blade oval or oblong to ovate, 7–22 × 3–14 cm, subsucculent, base truncate to subcordate, margins entire, apex obtuse to truncate or emarginate, mucronate, venation brochidodromous, secondary veins nearly orthogonal, surfaces hirsute, margins ciliate, 8–16 laminar colleters.
opposite, sessile, with 1 or 2 stipular colleters on each side of leaf base;
blade filiform, 2.5–10 × 0.1–0.15 cm, membranous, base cuneate, margins entire, apex acute, venation obscure, surfaces glabrous, laminar colleters absent.
terminal, paired, and extra-axillary, pedunculate, 21–53-flowered;
peduncle 6–13 cm, densely hirsute, with 1 caducous bract at the base of each pedicel.
terminal, sometimes branched, and often extra-axillary at upper nodes, sessile or pedunculate, 2–7-flowered;
peduncle 0–5 cm, puberulent with curved trichomes on 1 side, with 1 caducous bract at the base of each pedicel.
13–22 mm, densely hirsute.
7–17 mm, minutely puberulent with curved trichomes on 1 side.
erect to pendent;
calyx lobes lanceolate, 3.5–6 mm, apex acute, hirsute;
corolla cream to greenish cream or ochroleucous, sometimes tinged pink, lobes reflexed with spreading tips, elliptic, 9–11 mm, apex acute, glabrous;
gynostegial column 0.5–1 mm;
fused anthers greenish brown, cylindric, 2.5–3 mm, wings right-triangular, closed, apical appendages oval;
corona segments cream to ochroleucous, sometimes tinged pink, shiny, subsessile, conduplicate, 6–8 mm, equaling or exceeding style apex, apex truncate, spreading and tapering, glabrous, internal appendage laterally compressed, erect, barely exserted, glabrous;
style apex shallowly depressed, green or pink.
erect;
calyx lobes narrowly lanceolate, 1.5–2.5 mm, apex acute, glabrous;
corolla white, sometimes pale lavender-tinged, inconspicuously striate, lobes spreading, lanceolate, 7–10 mm, apex acute to obtuse, glabrous;
gynostegium sessile;
fused anthers lavender, cylindric, 1.5–3 mm, wings narrowly right-triangular, open at base, apical appendages ovate;
corona segments white, sessile with a basal collar, cupulate, 2.5–4 mm, equaling to slightly exceeding style apex, apex obtuse, glabrous, internal appendage a laterally flattened, included crest, glabrous;
style apex shallowly depressed, lavender.
ovate, 6–7 × 4–5 mm, margin winged, faces minutely rugulose;
coma 4–4.5 cm.
oval, 6–8 × 3–5 mm, margin winged, faces smooth;
coma 3.5 cm.
erect on upcurved pedicels, lance-ovoid, 9.5–13.5 × 2–3 cm, apex attenuate, smooth, densely hirsute.
erect on straight pedicels, fusiform, 9–12 × 0.3–0.6 cm, apex attenuate, smooth, glabrous.
Asclepias lemmonii
Asclepias feayi
A highly distinctive species, Asclepias lemmonii just barely enters the United States in southern Arizona (Cochise, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties), where it inhabits canyons in pine-oak clad sky-island ranges. Asclepias elata is a common co-inhabitant of these canyons. Asclepias lemmonii has been documented from the Baboquiviri, Chiricahua, Huachuca, and Santa Rita mountains, and it is not common in any of these. It is considered to be of conservation concern in Arizona. The large, hirsute leaves with nearly orthogonal venation and robust, hirsute stems of A. lemmonii are unmatched among American milkweeds. Plants may reach heights over 2 m in the main range of the species in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Asclepias feayi is one of a trio of very slender milkweeds in the southeastern United States, along with A. cinerea and A. viridula. These species are divergent in floral morphology, but without flowers they are very difficult to distinguish (even in fruit), and they appear to be close relatives. However, A. feayi occurs primarily in peninsular central and southwestern Florida, from Lake to Collier counties, most commonly in scrub. A single disjunct population has been documented from Clay County in the northeastern part of the state (Hall 1896 [FLAS]). Asclepias cinerea and A. viridula are found in northern Florida or further north, in flatwoods. All three species are cryptic in the absence of flowers and appear to respond positively to fire and rainfall events. They are likely to be more common than is apparent because they are inconspicuous and emerge episodically. Nonetheless, numerous historical locations for A. feayi have been developed and are no longer capable of supporting populations, and its conservation status merits evaluation. An unusual putative hybrid with A. pedicellata represented by a single collection is documented from Marion County (Judd 2639 [FLAS]), suggested by the exactly intermediate floral morphology.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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