SPIDER MILKWEED
File Size: 110 KB
 
Asclepias viridis  Walt.
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve,
Perennial
Height: 8-26 inches
Family: Apocynaceae - Dogbane Family
Flowering Period:   May, June, July
Also Called: Green antelopehorn.
Stems: Ascending, 1-2, simple or sparingly branched above, glabrous or sparsely pubescent above.
Leaves: Mostly alternate, simple, short-stalked, ascending to spreading, ovate-lanceolate, 2 to 5 inches long, 1/2 to 2 inches wide, glabrous or sparsely fine hairy; margins entire; tips pointed, rounded or notched.
Inflorescences: Umbels, 1-7, 3 to 5 inches wide, short-stalked, 3-18-flowered, terminal.
Flowers: 5-parted, about 1/2 inch tall, on stalks 1/2 to 1 inch long; calyx lobes lanceolate, green to purple-tinged, minutely pubescent; corolla lobes elliptic-lanceolate, pale green, glabrous, curving upward, about twice as long as hoods; hoods club-shaped, purplish; tips arched; horns absent.
Fruits: Pods, spindle-shaped, 2.5 to 5 inches long, 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide, slightly hairy, erect on downward-curved stalks; seeds broadly egg-shaped, tufted with white or light tan hairs at tips.
Habitat: Dry prairies, pastures, ditch banks, and disturbed ground, on sandy or rocky limestone soils.
Distribution: East 2/3 of Kansas.
Comments: Spider milkweed can become abundant in overgrazed pastures. Formerly treated as Asclepiadaceae - Milkweed Family.
 Resembles spider antelopehorn Asclepias asperula

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