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Green Antelopehorn Milkweed

Asclepias viridis Walt.

Apocynaceae (Dogbane Family) (formerly in Asclepiadaceae, the Milkweed Family)

▲ non-flowering stem, with alternate, oval leaves with somewhat wavy edges

▲▼ flowering plants, usually with one inflorescence per stem

▲▼ flowering plants showing multi-stemmed nature of mature plants

▲▼ flower details

 

Asclepias viridis Walt.; Green Antelopehorn Milkweed:

·         simple perennial with tap root that produces multiple unbranched stems that grow 9-30 inches tall with one inflorescence per stem in late spring to early summer

·         leaves are oval, alternate with somewhat wavy edges

·         flowers are creamy white to greenish-yellow, with purple star-like structures ("hoods") in the center; flowers are in umbel inflorescence arrangement

·         Is a member of the Milkweed family and provides food for Monarch butterfly larvae

·          not usually a weed problem; has low toxicity for grazing animals

·          fruit is a large, oval, light-green, fleshy, dimpled pod that is held upright on the plant; it dries to release the seeds that have parachutes for wind dispersal

The “weediness” of milkweeds has been revisited due to them being the main food for monarch butterfly larvae; therefore, milkweeds no longer are being generally considered as weeds to eradicate, and actually have legal protection in some areas

 

 

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Updated 19 January 2019