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Asclepias speciosa

Asclepias speciosa , Robert Tatina @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA SCS. 1989. Midwest wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. Midwest National Technical Center, Lincoln.

Cladus: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Divisio: Magnoliophyta
Classis: Magnoliopsida
Ordo: Gentianales
Familia: Apocynaceae
Subfamilia: Asclepiadoideae
Tribus: Asclepiadeae
Subtribus: Asclepiadinae
Genus: Asclepias
Species: Asclepias speciosa

Name

Asclepias speciosa, Torr.

References

* Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York 2:218. 1827
* USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Data from 07-Oct-06]. [1]

Vernacular names
Internationalization
English: showy milkweed

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Asclepias speciosa is a species of milkweed known commonly as the showy milkweed. It is native to the western half of North America.

Description

This flowering plant is a hairy, erect perennial. The large, pointed, bananalike leaves are arranged opposite on the stalklike stem. The eye-catching furry pale pink to pinkish-purple flowers are arranged in thick umbels. Their corollas are reflexed and the central flower parts, five hoods with prominent hooks, are star-shaped. The fruit is a large, rough follicle filled with many flat oval seeds with luxuriant silky plumes.

Many Native American peoples use all parts of this plant for a great number of medicinal uses and ate some parts as a food.

Butterflies

Asclepias speciosa is a specific Monarch butterfly food and habitat plant.

Plants Images

Biology Encyclopedia

Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License