Asclepias meadii
Asclepias eriocarpa
Mead's milkweed
Indian milkweed, kotolo, woollypod milkweed, wooly-pod or kotolo or Indian milkweed
1 (rarely 2), erect, unbranched, 20–80 cm, glabrous, glaucous, rhizomatous.
1–10, erect to spreading, rarely branched, 30–100 cm, tomentose to puberulent with curved trichomes or glabrate, not glaucous, rhizomatous.
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.
opposite, or alternate or whorled at upper nodes, petiolate, with 0–2 stipular colleters on each side of petiole (sometimes additionally in the axil);
petiole 4–15 mm, tomentose;
blade oblong or oval to lanceolate or ovate, often conduplicate, 8–20 × 2–8 cm, chartaceous, base obtuse or truncate to cordate, margins entire or often undulate, apex acuminate to obtuse, mucronate, venation brochidodromous, surfaces tomentose to densely puberulent with curved trichomes, margins ciliate, 6–8 laminar colleters.
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.
terminal, sometimes branched, and extra-axillary at upper nodes, pedunculate, 12–57-flowered;
peduncle 1–10 cm, densely tomentose, with 1 caducous bract at the base of each pedicel.
11–20 mm, pilosulous.
15–50 mm, densely tomentose.
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.
erect to spreading;
calyx lobes lanceolate, 3–4 mm, apex acute, densely tomentose;
corolla greenish cream, ochroleucous, or pinkish cream, deep pink or tan abaxially, lobes reflexed, tips usually spreading, oval, 7–9 mm, apex acute, tomentose abaxially towards tips, glabrous adaxially;
gynostegial column 1–1.5 mm;
fused anthers dark brown, cylindric, 2.5–3 mm, wings right-triangular, closed, apical appendages ovate;
corona segments cream to dark pink, stipitate, conduplicate, dorsally rounded, 2.5–3 mm, exceeded by style apex, apex truncate, oblique, papillose, internal appendage falcate, exserted, sharply inflexed towards style apex, papillose;
style apex shallowly depressed, cream.
ovate, 6–7 × 4–5 mm, winged, faces coarsely papillose;
coma 3–4.5 cm.
ovate, 7–9 × 4–6 mm, margin narrowly winged, faces faintly rugulose;
coma 2.5–3 cm.
erect on upcurved pedicels, narrowly fusiform, 7–14 × 0.9–1.6 cm, apex long-acuminate, smooth to minutely rugulose, puberulent with curved trichomes.
erect on upcurved pedicels, lance-ovoid, 5–10 × 1.5–3 cm, apex apiculate, smooth, densely tomentose.
Asclepias meadii
Asclepias eriocarpa
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.)
Asclepias eriocarpa is found almost throughout the California Floristic Province in relatively dry, open sites in a variety of vegetation types. It is the only milkweed in the flora area that regularly produces alternate, opposite, and whorled leaves on a single stem. Its distribution overlaps that of several other broad-leaved, densely vestitured Asclepias species: A. erosa in desert scrub and dry grasslands, A. californica and A. vestita in chaparral and woodlands, and A. speciosa in woodlands. Comparison to A. erosa is presented under that species. Asclepias eriocarpa is easily distinguished from A. californica by the distinctive red-violet, rounded corona segments that lack appendages in the latter species. Asclepias eriocarpa has corona segments with truncate apices and corolla lobes that are tomentose abaxially only at the apex, in contrast to the obtuse corona segments and uniformly pubescent corolla lobes of A. vestita. Asclepias speciosa has distinctive corona segments with long, tapering apices that are much larger than and are easily distinguished from those of A. eriocarpa. It is possible that A. eriocarpa and A. speciosa occasionally hybridize—R. E. Woodson Jr. speculated (via annotation of the holotype, E. Gifford s.n. [CAS]) that A. giffordii Eastwood represented such a hybrid. That interpretation is accepted here. Asclepias eriocarpa is reported to be a resource for fiber and medicine by Native Americans.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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