Asclepias speciosa
Asclepias speciosa | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Apocynaceae |
Genus: | Asclepias |
Species: | A. speciosa |
Binomial name | |
Asclepias speciosa | |
Asclepias speciosa is a milky-sapped perennial plant in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), known commonly as the showy milkweed.[1]
Habitat and range
This species is native to the western half of North America.
Growth pattern
This flowering plant is a hairy, erect perennial.
Leaves and stems
The large, pointed, elongate, simple, entire leaves are arranged oppositely on stalks.
Inflorescence and fruit
The eye-catching, hirsute, pale pink through pinkish-purple flowers occur in dense umbellate cymes. Their corollas are reflexed and the central flower parts, five hoods with prominent hooks, form a star shape. The fruit is a large, rough follicle filled with many flat oval seeds, each with silky hairs.
This species flowers from May through September.[1]
Uses
Native Americans used fiber in the stems for rope, basketry, and nets.[1] Some Native Americans believed the milky sap had medicinal qualities, however, most species of milkweed are toxic.[1]
Butterflies and moths
Asclepias speciosa is a specific monarch butterfly food and habitat plant. Additionally, phenylacetaldehyde produced by the plants attracts Synanthedon myopaeformis, the red-belted clearwing moth.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 60.
- ↑ Eby, Chelsea; Gardiner, Mark G.T.; Gries, Regine; Judd, Gary J.R.; Khaskin, Grigori; Gries, Gerhard (2013-04-01). "Phenylacetaldehyde attracts male and female apple clearwing moths, Synanthedon myopaeformis, to inflorescences of showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa". Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 147 (1): 82–92. doi:10.1111/eea.12045. ISSN 1570-7458.
External links
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