Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Asclepias syriaca
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Common Milkweed at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias syriaca
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-010:
Asclepias syriaca
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
COMMON NAME:
Common Milkweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_asin13_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_assy_001_lvd
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_a_syriaca_common
May
Corolla lobes reflexed; corona horns more or less equaling the hoods, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_a_syriaca_common_2
June
)
JK Marlow jkm0407i_23
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0507c_03
July Wise County VA
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0507c_19
July Fayette County WV
Canyon Rim Visitors Center
)
JK Marlow jkm0507i_10b
July Pocahontas County WV
Creekside/Riverside
)
JK Marlow jkm0507i_37
July Pocahontas County WV
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0507j_02
July Pocahontas County WV
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm200706_6467
July Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
)
JK Marlow jkm200706_6468
July Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
)
Keith Bradley kab_a_syriaca_1384
July Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow s050709_a
July Wise County VA
Roadside
Leaves oblong to slightly oval, 4-6" long, acute at the tip, hairy beneath, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Asclepias syriaca
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias syriaca
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-010:
Asclepias syriaca
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
138
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas
Documented growing wild in - NC SC
Common (rare in Coastal Plain of NC) (rare in SC)
Look for it in pastures, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
...Moist
...Variable
...Dry
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Summer
Rose/Greenish-white
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed corolla, lobes reflexed
Superior ovary
Flowers in 2-6 umbels from upper leaf axils
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Follicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers p110
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p264
- Southern Appalachian Wildflowers p123
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p363
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p068
- Wildflowers in the Field and Forest p110
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p153
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p203
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p192
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p229
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p337
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p128