Images
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Morphology
- Stem
- Erect, stout, simple or sometimes slightly branched above, glabrous, waxy.
- Leaves
- Opposite, simple, mostly sessile, ascending to spreading, thick, broadly ovate to oblong, 2.5 to 6 inches long, 1 to 3.5 wide, glabrous; margins entire; tips blunt to rounded, usually bearing a short point.
- Inflorescence
- Umbels, 1 to several, in upper leaf axils, 15-40-flowered, stalks .5 to 3 inches long.
- Flower
- 5-parted, .6 to .8 inch tall; stalks slender, 1 to 1.5 inch long; sepals 5, lanceolate to ovate, green to purplish or pinkish, glabrous; corolla lobes 5, pinkish rose to rose-purple, glabrous, bent abruptly downward; hoods somewhat fleshy, ovate-oblong, attached near bases, spreading; horns sickle-shaped, in-curved, fused to lower half of hoods.
- Fruit
- Pods, spindle-shaped, 3 to 4 inches long, about 1 inch wide, finely hairy or glabrous, erect or ascending on downward-curved stalks; seeds many, compressed, tufted with silky white hairs at tips.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Moist lowland prairies and roadsides, most abundant on limestone soils.
- Distribution
- East half of Kansas.
Additional Notes
Comments
Smooth milkweed tends to occur in colonies. It is named after William Sterling Sullivant, 1803-1873, an authority on mosses. Formerly treated as Asclepiadaceae - Milkweed Family.
Special Notes: The flowers are showier than those of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.), which has pubescence on the stem and leaves.
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Wildflower
- Family
- Apocynaceae - Dogbane Family
- Life Span
- Perennial
- Height
- 2-4 feet
- Last Updated
- 2007-07-17
Color Groups
Pink, Red & Orange Wildflowers
Flowering Period
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Blooms: June, July, August