Fourleaf milkweed

Images

Click on image to view full size

Fourleaf milkweed leaves

Fourleaf milkweed

Fourleaf milkweed fruit

Fourleaf milkweed inflorescence

Fourleaf milkweed flowers

Fourleaf milkweed flowers

Fourleaf milkweed leaves

Morphology

Stem

Erect, simple, mostly solitary, slender, glabrous to pubescent in lines extending down from leaf bases; leafless below.

Leaves

Mostly opposite but with 1-2 whorls of 4 leaves near mid-point of stem; blades lanceolate to ovate, 1 to 5 inches long, 1/2 to 2.8 inches wide, thin, sparsely-hairy on veins; tips long-pointed; stalks 1/5 to 4/5 inch long.

Inflorescence

Umbels, 1-3, terminal or in upper leaf axils, 4- to 35-flowered, on stalks 1/5 to 1.6 inch long.

Flower

1/3 to 1/2 inch tall; stalks thread-like, 3/5 to 4/5 inch long, minutely pubescent; calyx lobes 5, lanceolate to ovate, green to purplish, glabrous; corolla lobes 5, elliptic-lanceolate, 1/5 to 1/4 inch long, pale pink to pinkish-white, bent abruptly downward; hoods narrowly oblong, about 1/6 inch long, white, attached near bases, spreading, with prominent lateral teeth above base; horns short, flattened, sickle-shaped, curved inward, attached to lower 1/2 of hood.

Fruit

Pod, very slender, 3.2 to 5.6 inches long, 1/4 to 1/3 thick, lacking tubercles, minutely-hairy to glabrous; seeds broadly oval, to 1/3 inch long, tufted with white to tan hairs at tips.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry open woods, generally on upland slopes and ridges; chert soils.

Distribution

Southeast corner.

Practical Information

Uses

Native Americans used an infusion of the root to treat backaches and venereal disease. They also used the plant as a laxative, rubbed it on warts to remove them, and used fibers from the plant to make bowstrings.

Additional Notes