Asclepias quinquedentata
A rare up-to-2-foot-tall Asclepias genus plant native to high-elevation oak and coniferous woodlands in Arizona and New Mexico, with narrow linear leaves, purple flower clusters, long upturned pods, and a June through August bloom across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Mexico
Common Names
Milkweed, Slimpod Milkweed
Summary
Slimpod milkweed is a slender, 10–60 cm tall perennial herb with an erect to ascending habit (sometimes decumbent at the base) and opposite linear leaves. Native to the U.S. Lower 48 (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas) and Mexico, the plant bears pendent flowers with a green to cream-yellow corolla and reflexed lobes; corona segments are red to purple at the base and white apically, and fruits are follicles; flowering occurs June–August and fruiting July–November.
Habitat includes slopes, canyons, limestone or rhyolite rocky soils, chaparral, pinyon-juniper and oak woodlands, and pine-oak forests at elevations of 4,300–8,300 ft, with flowering Jun–Aug and fruiting Jul–Nov. A rare species with restricted distribution in Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico, it is commonly known as slimpod milkweed and listed as a wildflower in the southwestern United States.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
2 feet
Soil Type
Rocky soils
Bloom Color
Red, Pink, Purple, White
Bloom Time
Summer
Seasons of Interest
Summer
Propagation Methods
Seeds
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- A.Gray
- Publication
- Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 12: 71 (1877)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Gentianales
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Genus
- Asclepias
Synonyms
Acerates schaffneri Asclepias amsonioides Asclepias palmeri Asclepias rzedowskii Asclepias schaffneri Asclepias zacatecana Asclepias quinquedentata var. neomexicana