Spider milkweed

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Spider milkweed flowers

Spider milkweed habit

Spider milkweed

Spider milkweed

Spider milkweed habit

Spider milkweed flowers

Spider milkweed

Spider milkweed fruit

Spider milkweed

Spider milkweed

Spider milkweed flower

Spider milkweed fruit

Spider milkweed fruit

Spider milkweed flowers

Spider milkweed

Morphology

Stem

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.

Inflorescence

Umbels, 1-7, 3 to 5 inches wide, short-stalked, 3-18-flowered, terminal.

Flower

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.

Fruit

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.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry prairies, pastures, ditch banks, and disturbed ground, on sandy or rocky limestone soils.

Distribution

East 2/3 of Kansas.

Additional Notes