PURPLE MILKWEED
File Size: 61 KB
 
Asclepias purpurascens  L.
Shawnee County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 16-40 inches
Family: Apocynaceae - Dogbane Family
Flowering Period:   May, June, July
Stems: Erect, usually solitary, unbranched, stout, mostly glabrous but sometimes densely short-hairy above; latex white.
Leaves: Opposite or rarely with whorl of 4, broadly lanceolate to less commonly ovate-oblong or elliptic, 1.6 to 9.2 inches long, .8 to 4 inches wide, ascending or spreading, upper surface nearly glabrous to sparsely short-hairy, lower surface moderately to densely short-hairy; margins entire, occasionally wavy; tip pointed to less commonly broadly rounded; stalk 1/3 to 1 inch long.
Inflorescences: Umbels, 1-5, terminal and occasionally lateral in upper nodes, 12-50-flowered; stalk .2 to 3.6 inches long.
Flowers: Stalk slender, .6 to 1.4 inches long, sparsely to densely soft-hairy; flower 1/2 to 3/5 inch tall; calyx lobes 5, narrowly lanceolate to narrowly triangular, 1/10 to 1/6 inch long, green to purplish, moderately to densely short-hairy, bent abruptly downward; corolla lobes 5, ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 1/4 to 2/5 inch long, glabrous, deep rose or reddish-purple, bent abruptly downward; hoods much longer than column, lanceolate, united near base, 1/6 to 1/3 inch long, often wider near middle, erect or ascending, pale red or purple; margins in-rolled and fused at tip; horns short, sickle-shaped, united to lower half of hood, arching abruptly inward.
Fruits: Pod, narrowly spindle-shaped, 4 to 6.4 inches long, .4 to .8 inch wide, finely pubescent to nearly glabrous, erect or ascending on downward-curved stalk; seeds many, broadly egg-shaped, 1/5 to 1/4 inch long, margins narrowly winged, tufted with silky white hairs.
Habitat: Open deciduous woods, pastures, roadsides, bluff tops, open disturbed areas; dry rocky or sandy calcareous soils.
Distribution: East 1/4 of Kansas
Origin: Native
Uses: At one time, the milky latex was used to treat warts.
Comments: Formerly treated as Asclepiadaceae - Milkweed Family.

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