Asclepias speciosa

Asclepias speciosa is a milky-sapped perennial plant in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), known commonly as the showy milkweed,[1] and is found in the Western half of North America.

Asclepias speciosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Asclepias
Species:
A. speciosa
Binomial name
Asclepias speciosa
Asclepias speciosa, West Eugene wetlands, Oregon

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]

The young leaves and seed pods can be boiled and eaten.[2]

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.[3] It is also a larval host for the dogbane tiger moth and the queen butterfly.[4]

References
  1. Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 60.
  2. Lyons, C. P. (1956). Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to Know in Washington (1st ed.). Canada: J. M. Dent & Sons. p. 196.
  3. 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.
  4. The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
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