Asclepias meadii
Asclepias scaposa
Mead's milkweed
bear mountain milkweed
1 (rarely 2), erect, unbranched, 20–80 cm, glabrous, glaucous, rhizomatous.
1–5+, erect, unbranched (rarely at base), 15–20 cm, pilosulous, not glaucous, rhizomes 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.
opposite, sessile or petiolate, with 1 stipular colleter on each side of petiole;
petiole 0–6 mm, pilosulous to glabrate;
blade oval to elliptic, 6–8 × 1.5–2.5 cm, membranous, base cuneate, margins crisped, apex obtuse to acute, venation eucamptodromous, surfaces sparsely hirtellous, margins ciliate, laminar colleters absent.
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, solitary, pedunculate, 15–30-flowered;
peduncle 7–17 cm, pilose, bracts absent or few.
11–20 mm, pilosulous.
15–20 mm, pilose.
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 pendent;
calyx lobes narrowly lanceolate, 2–2.5 mm, apex acute, pilose;
corolla green with purplish tinge (reddish purple), lobes reflexed, elliptic, 4–5 mm, apex acute, glabrous;
gynostegial column 0.5–1 mm;
fused anthers brown, cylindric, 1.5–2 mm, wings curved, wider at base, apical appendages ovate;
corona segments cream, sometimes yellow- or red-tinged or yellow or red at base, sessile, tubular, 2–3 mm, exceeding style apex, base saccate, apex truncate, dentate, glabrous, internal appendage falcate, exserted, arching above style apex, glabrous;
style apex shallowly depressed, green or cream.
ovate, 6–7 × 4–5 mm, winged, faces coarsely papillose;
coma 3–4.5 cm.
not seen.
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, fusiform, 5–6 × 1–1.5 cm, apex long-acuminate, smooth, pilosulous.
Asclepias meadii
Asclepias scaposa
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.)
The long-pedunculate, terminal inflorescence combined with short stature is distinctive in Asclepias scaposa. Although the locality of one of the syntypes was attributed to New Mexico by E. L. Greene, that is the only report for that state. Both syntypes were collected by Charles Wright for the United States-Mexico boundary survey, but neither of his labels indicates that they were collected in New Mexico. It is very likely that both collections were made in Texas or northeastern Mexico, and New Mexico is excluded from the distribution here. The common name Bear Mountain milkweed may refer to a ridge in the northwestern portion of the Davis Mountains, although no collections are known from this area. The few collections and observations that have been made in Texas are from scattered locations in Brewster, Crockett, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, and Terrell counties, and conservation status in the United States merits assessment. In Mexico, A. scaposa also has been rarely collected, except for a local area in Nuevo León (Municipio de Galeana).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
IL Wildflowers
KS Wildflowers
MO Plants
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