Asclepias purpurascens

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Gentianales

Familia: Apocynaceae
Subfamilia: Asclepiadoideae
Tribus: Asclepiadeae
Subtribus: Asclepiadinae
Genus: Asclepias
Species: Asclepias purpurascens
Name

Asclepias purpurascens L., 1753
Synonyms

Heterotypic
Asclepias amoena L., Sp. Pl.: 214 (1753).
Asclepias compressa Moench, Methodus: 717 (1794).
Asclepias dasypus Raf., Atlantic J. 1: 152 (1832).
Asclepias gonalis Raf., Autik. Bot.: 178 (1840).
Asclepias lasiotis Raf., Autik. Bot.: 178 (1840).

Homonyms

Asclepias purpurascens Georgi = Vincetoxicum purpurascens C. Morr. & Decne.
Asclepias purpurascens Walt. = Asclepias solanoana Woods.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
USA (Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia), Canada (Ontario)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 214. Reference page.

Links

USDA, NRCS 2006. The PLANTS Database, 6 March 2006 (http://plants.usda.gov). Data compiled from various sources by Mark W. Skinner. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
Hassler, M. 2018. Asclepias purpurascens. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Sep 29. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Asclepias purpurascens in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Sep 29. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Asclepias purpurascens. Published online. Accessed: Sep 29 2018. Reference page.
The Plant List 2013. Asclepias purpurascens in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Sep 29.
Tropicos.org 2018. Asclepias purpurascens. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 29 Sep 2018.

Vernacular names
English: purple milkweed

Asclepias purpurascens, or the purple milkweed, is a herbaceous plant species. It is in the genus Asclepias, making it a type of milkweed. It is native to the Eastern, Southern and Midwestern United States similar to the range of the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). The plant gets its name from the flowers that first develop a pink color but then turn darker purple as they mature. Unlike common milkweed, purple milkweed prefers some shade and is considered a plant of partial shade. It is also considered an indicator of oak savanna, especially in Wisconsin.[1] The species rarely produces seed pods which are smooth, instead of the rough warty ones produced by common milkweed.[2]
Conservation status in the United States

It is listed endangered in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, officially as historical to Rhode Island (though with two recently discovered yet meager populations), as imperiled in Maryland[3] and as a special concern species in Connecticut[4] and Tennessee.[5]
Uses

Like other members of the milkweeds, several insects live off the plant, including the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), the milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetraophtalmus), large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus), small milkweed bug (Lygaeus kalmii) and milkweed leaf beetle (Labidomera clivicollis).[citation needed] Other insects and pollinators feed off the flower's nectar.

This species is sometimes cultivated in gardens designed to attract butterflies, but is less common than the light purple swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) or the orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa). The nectar of the plant attracts many other species of butterflies and insects.

References

Thomas D. Brock. "Ecology and Conservation of Purple Milkweed" (PDF). Pleasantvalleyconservancy.org. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
"Asclepias purpurascens L. Purple milkweed" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
""List of Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Talbot County"" (PDF). Dnr.maryland.gov. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
"Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 31 December 2017.(Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)

"Plants Profile for Asclepias purpurascens (Purple milkweed)". Plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 31 December 2017.

Blanchan, Neltje (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.