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asclépiade à fleurs vertes, green antelopehorn milkweed, green comet milkweed, green milkweed

low milkweed, plains milkweed, plains or low or dwarf milkweed

Habit Herbs. Herbs.
Stems

solitary, erect to ascending, unbranched (rarely), (10–)20–125 cm, puberulent with curved trichomes, not glaucous, rhizomes absent.

1–12, erect, unbranched to moderately branched below, 10–30 cm, puberulent with curved trichomes, not glaucous, rhizomatous.

Leaves

opposite to subopposite, sessile or petiolate, with 1 or 2 stipular colleters on each side of petiole and also in axil;

petiole 0–5 mm, puberulent with curved trichomes;

blade linear to broadly oval or nearly orbiculate, 2–13 × 0.8–6 cm, chartaceous, base cuneate to rounded, margins entire or crisped, apex acute or obtuse to truncate or emarginate, mucronate, venation brochidodromous, surfaces sparsely pilosulous to glabrate, margins ciliate, laminar colleters absent.

alternate, sessile, with 1 stipular colleter on each side of leaf base;

blade needlelike to narrowly linear, 2.5–5.5 × 0.05–0.1 cm, chartaceous, base cuneate, margins entire, apex acute, mucronate, venation obscure, surfaces glabrous, margins ciliate, laminar colleters absent.

Inflorescences

extra-axillary at upper nodes, sometimes branched at peduncle apex, sessile or pedunculate, 22–60-flowered;

peduncle 0–4 cm, puberulent with curved trichomes to pilosulous, with 1 caducous bract at the base of each pedicel.

extra-axillary at upper nodes, sometimes appearing terminal, pedunculate, 3–13-flowered;

peduncle 0.1–2 cm, puberulent with curved trichomes, with 1 caducous bract at the base of each pedicel.

Pedicels

7–13 mm, pilosulous.

6–16 mm, puberulent with curved trichomes.

Flowers

erect to pendent;

calyx lobes narrowly lanceolate, 2–3 mm, apex acute, pilosulous;

corolla green to yellowish green, sometimes tinged red, lobes reflexed, oblong, 5–7 mm, apex acute, inconspicuously pilosulous at apex abaxially, glabrous adaxially;

gynostegium sessile;

fused anthers green, cylindric, 3–4 mm, wings triangular, widest at middle, closed, apical appendages ovate, marginally inflexed, apically deflexed;

corona segments green to cream, sometimes tinged red, sessile, laminar, margins incurved, appressed to column, 3–4 mm, greatly exceeded by style apex, apex obtuse, glabrous, internal appendage absent or obscure, glabrous;

style apex shallowly depressed, green.

erect;

calyx lobes narrowly lanceolate, 2–3 mm, apex acute, puberulent with curved trichomes to glabrate;

corolla pink to cream with a pink tinge, lobes reflexed with spreading tips, elliptic, 3.5–4.5 mm, apex acute, glabrous abaxially, minutely papillose at base adaxially;

gynostegial column 0.8–1 mm;

fused anthers green, columnar, 1–1.5 mm, wings narrowly right-triangular, closed, apical appendages deltoid;

corona segments cream, sometimes tinged or striped pink, stipitate, tubular, dorsally flattened, 2–2.5 mm, exceeded by to equaling style apex, apex obtuse, glabrous, internal appendage acicular, exserted, arching towards style apex, glabrous;

style apex shallowly depressed, cream.

Seeds

ovate, 7–8 × 4–5 mm, margin winged, faces minutely rugulose;

coma 2.5–3 cm.

ovate, 5–6 × 3–5 mm, margin winged, faces smooth;

coma 2–3 cm.

Follicles

erect on upcurved pedicels, fusiform to lance-ovoid, 6–10 × 1.5–2 cm, apex acuminate to attenuate, smooth, pilosulous.

erect on straight pedicels, narrowly fusiform, 2.5–9.5 × 0.5–1 cm, apex acuminate to attenuate, smooth, minutely puberulent with curved trichomes to glabrate.

2n

= 22.

Asclepias viridiflora

Asclepias pumila

Phenology Flowering Apr–Sep(–Oct); fruiting Jun–Nov. Flowering (May–)Jun–Sep; fruiting Aug–Oct.
Habitat Slopes, ridges, bluffs, flats, canyons, arroyos, glades, fields, meadows, pastures, sandhills, dunes, pond edges, streamsides, playas, sandstone, limestone, gypsum, ser­pentine, dolomite, alluvium, silty, sandy, clay, rocky, and calcareous soils, prairies, desert grasslands, oak scrub, oak, oak-juniper, oak-hickory, pine-oak, and pine woodlands, forest openings and edges. Slopes, bluffs, plains, sandhills, dunes, rock outcrops, playas, ditches, basalt, alluvium, sandy, clay, rocky, and gravel soils, prairies, meadows, shrubby grasslands, pine woodlands.
Elevation 0–2300 m. (0–7500 ft.) 600–2300 m. (2000–7500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV; WY; AB; MB; ON; SK; Mexico (Coahuila)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CO; KS; MT; ND; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Asclepias viridiflora is one of the milkweeds with spherical, greenish umbels and inconspicuous coronas (see also A. engelmanniana, A. hirtella, A. lanuginosa, A. longifolia, A. rusbyi, A. stenophylla). Prior to close examination, the tight green balls of open flowers appear to be merely in bud. The diversity in leaf morphology among individuals (linear to orbiculate) is remarkable, but has no taxonomic significance—the full range of variation may be found within single populations. This is the most widespread milkweed within the flora area, ranging across most of the United States (absent only from the westernmost states and most of New England) and southern Canada. It is nowhere abundant, but may be regularly encountered in suitable, thin-soiled prairie habitats, especially in the Great Plains. It is rare and considered to be of conservation concern on the margins of its range, in Alberta (Cypress, Forty Mile, and Warner counties), Arizona (Coconino, Gila, and Yavapai counties), Connecticut (New Haven County), Florida (Gadsden and Jackson counties), and New York (Columbia, Nassau, Richmond, and Suffolk counties).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Asclepias linaria and A. pumila of southeastern Arizona and extreme southwestern New Mexico are the only milkweeds with densely spiraled, linear to needlelike leaves. Hybrids with A. subverticillata and A. verticillata have been documented; see discussion under these species. When not flowering, A. pumila is cryptic and easily overlooked in its grassland habitat, especially when growing among Bouteloua species. Specimens supposedly from Illinois and Arizona (C. Mohr [US]) undoubtedly have incorrect label data. A population in the Sacramento Mountains of southern New Mexico (Otero County) appears to be a significant southern disjunction.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Apocynaceae > Asclepias Apocynaceae > Asclepias
Sibling taxa
A. albicans, A. amplexicaulis, A. angustifolia, A. arenaria, A. asperula, A. brachystephana, A. californica, A. cinerea, A. connivens, A. cordifolia, A. cryptoceras, A. curassavica, A. curtissii, A. cutleri, A. eastwoodiana, A. elata, A. emoryi, A. engelmanniana, A. eriocarpa, A. erosa, A. exaltata, A. fascicularis, A. feayi, A. hallii, A. hirtella, A. humistrata, A. hypoleuca, A. incarnata, A. involucrata, A. labriformis, A. lanceolata, A. lanuginosa, A. latifolia, A. lemmonii, A. linaria, A. linearis, A. longifolia, A. macrosperma, A. macrotis, A. meadii, A. michauxii, A. nummularia, A. nyctaginifolia, A. obovata, A. oenotheroides, A. ovalifolia, A. pedicellata, A. perennis, A. prostrata, A. pumila, A. purpurascens, A. quadrifolia, A. quinquedentata, A. rubra, A. rusbyi, A. ruthiae, A. sanjuanensis, A. scaposa, A. solanoana, A. speciosa, A. sperryi, A. stenophylla, A. subulata, A. subverticillata, A. sullivantii, A. syriaca, A. texana, A. tomentosa, A. tuberosa, A. uncialis, A. variegata, A. verticillata, A. vestita, A. viridis, A. viridula, A. welshii
A. albicans, A. amplexicaulis, A. angustifolia, A. arenaria, A. asperula, A. brachystephana, A. californica, A. cinerea, A. connivens, A. cordifolia, A. cryptoceras, A. curassavica, A. curtissii, A. cutleri, A. eastwoodiana, A. elata, A. emoryi, A. engelmanniana, A. eriocarpa, A. erosa, A. exaltata, A. fascicularis, A. feayi, A. hallii, A. hirtella, A. humistrata, A. hypoleuca, A. incarnata, A. involucrata, A. labriformis, A. lanceolata, A. lanuginosa, A. latifolia, A. lemmonii, A. linaria, A. linearis, A. longifolia, A. macrosperma, A. macrotis, A. meadii, A. michauxii, A. nummularia, A. nyctaginifolia, A. obovata, A. oenotheroides, A. ovalifolia, A. pedicellata, A. perennis, A. prostrata, A. purpurascens, A. quadrifolia, A. quinquedentata, A. rubra, A. rusbyi, A. ruthiae, A. sanjuanensis, A. scaposa, A. solanoana, A. speciosa, A. sperryi, A. stenophylla, A. subulata, A. subverticillata, A. sullivantii, A. syriaca, A. texana, A. tomentosa, A. tuberosa, A. uncialis, A. variegata, A. verticillata, A. vestita, A. viridiflora, A. viridis, A. viridula, A. welshii
Synonyms Acerates ivesii, A. viridiflora var. lanceolata, A. viridiflora var. linearis A. verticillata var. pumila
Name authority Rafinesque: Med. Repos., hexade 2, 5: 360. (1808) (A. Gray) Vail: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 25: 175. (1898)
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