Asclepias quadrifolia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Asclepias quadrifolia
Asclepias quadrifolia.jpg

Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Asclepias
Species:
A. quadrifolia
Binomial name
Asclepias quadrifolia
Jacq.

Asclepias quadrifolia is a species of milkweed commonly called fourleaf milkweed or whorled milkweed. The plant occurs in the eastern United States and Canada.

Description[]

Fourleaf milkweed is a perennial herb from a fleshy rhizome. The plant is small and slender compared to other milkweeds at only 45 cm tall.[1] Leaves usually elliptic to ovate, opposite in arrangement but clustered to form a false whorl, 2.5-12.0 cm long, 1–6 cm wide.[2] Pale pink to white flowers are borne in rounded, usually pendulous clusters from the leaf axils and terminus. The fruit is a follicle or pod which is 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.[3]

Approximately 1 year old remaining pods of fourleaf milkweed

Habitat[]

Unlike more commonly known species such as common milkweed or butterflyweed, fourleaf milkweed is a woodland denizen. It usually occurs in dry, rocky open forest. It is frequently found on upland slopes.[4]

Ecology[]

Insects that take nectar from the plant include bumblebees and other bees, wasps, ants, flies, and butterflies. The caterpillars of the monarch butterfly feed on the foliage.

Toxicity[]

Most Asclepias are toxic if consumed in large quantities due to cardiac glycoside content.[5]

Cultivation[]

Fourleaf milkweed is rare in cultivation.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ http://www.missouriplants.com/Pinkopp/Asclepias_quadrifolia_page.html Missouri Plants
  2. ^ http://www.monarchwatch.org/milkweed/guide/quad.htm Monarch Watch Milkweed photo guide
  3. ^ http://www.kswildflower.org/flower_details.php?flowerID=367 [Kansas Wildflowers]
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-04-19. Retrieved 2015-09-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) [Missouri Department of Conservation]
  5. ^ http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ASQU Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  6. ^ http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/73613/#b Dave's Garden Listing

External links[]

Retrieved from ""