Asclepias hirtella

Asclepias hirtella, commonly called the tall green milkweed,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). It is native to Canada and the United States, where its range is concentrated in the Midwest and Upper South.[2]

Asclepias hirtella
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Asclepias
Species:
A. hirtella
Binomial name
Asclepias hirtella
Synonyms

Asclepias longifolia ssp. hirtella (Pennell) J.Farmer & C.R.Bell

Description

Asclepias hirtella is a tall perennial, reaching 3 feet in height. It has many narrow, linear leaves that are produced alternately on the stem. Its flowers in lateral umbels with slender peduncles. Each stem may have 2 to 10 umbels and each umbel may have 30 to 100 flowers. The flowers lack horns and are greenish to slightly purplish in color. It flowers June thru Aug.[1][3][4]

This species closely resembles Asclepias longifolia, and it is occasionally treated to be a subspecies of it. Asclepias longifolia is restricted to the Southeastern Coastal Plain, and it differs from Asclepias hirtella in its fewer and smaller flower umbels, and its glabrous leaves.[5]

Habitat

Asclepias hirtella is found in a variety of open habitats, including areas with dry sandy soil, prairies and limestone glades,[6][5] It can be found in both wet and dry conditions, and it prefers open habitats with full sun.[1] This species is a component of high-quality grassland communities, although it can be found in and disturbed conditions as well.[1][7] It is considered to be uncommon throughout much of its range.[1][6]

Distribution

Asclepias hirtella is native to West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin to northerner Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma to south western Kentucky.[8] It is a prairie species native to 13 US states and one Canadian province, but is becoming rare or declining in numbers in parts of its native range.[4] A. hirtella is rare in Minnesota and listed as a threatened species in that state, where it occurs in the south eastern corner in mesic prairie habitats.[4]


References
  1. Hilty, John (2016). "Asclepias hirtella". Illinois Wildflowers.
  2. "Asclepias hirtella". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  3. "Asclepias hirtella". Native Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin.
  4. Barbara Coffin; Lee Pfannmuller (1988). Minnesota's Endangered Flora and Fauna. U of Minnesota Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-8166-1689-3.
  5. Alan Weakley (2015). "Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States".
  6. Asclepias hirtella Missouri Botanical Garden
  7. Yatskievych, George. "Asclepias hirtella". Flora of Missouri – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  8. "Asclepias hirtella (Pennell) Woodson". www.worldfloraonline.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
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