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Milkweed

Asclepias spp.

Milkweed Locations in North America
Milkweed Locations in Southeast US
few flowered milkweed full

Few flowered milkweed flower
milkweed side view
Milkweed top view


USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Illustration: USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. Vol. 3: 25.

What is Milkweed?

Physical Characteristics

  • Vine or shrub with milky juice

Leaves:

  • Can be opposite, whorled, or sometimes alternate
  • No small leaves

Flowers:

  • 5 deep lobes
  • 5 stamen
  • Pollen held together by wax

Fruit:

  • Dry
  • Opens only on one side to release seeds when ripe
  • Many seeded

Stem:

  • Slender
  • 1-6 feet tall

Where Does it Grow?

Milkweed can be found in marshes, swamps,  ditches, road side, open fields, and along lakes and streams. The four described in more detail at the links below are wetland milkweeds.

Pros and Cons of Milkweed

Milkweed is the only plant eaten by Monarch butterfly caterpillars, one of the reasons their numbers are dropping is the loss of space for milkweed to grow due to mowing or pesticides. 

Flowers are beneficial to native bees. 

Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc.). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called “detritus”) for many aquatic invertebrates.

What Type of Milkweed Do I Have?

There are 37 species of milkweed that are common in Texas. Four of these species are listed below. Click on the buttons to learn more about each species.

Asclepias lanceolata
Asclepias incarnata
Asclepias perennis
Asclepias rubra
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Photo Credits: The majority of the aquatic plant line drawings are the copyright of the University of Florida Center for Aquatic Plants (Gainsville). They are used with permission.

Aquatic plant photographs were provided by David Bayne, Jim Davis, Kelly Duffie, Billy Higginbotham, Michael Masser, John Clayton, Chetta Owens, Diane Smith, Joe Snow, Don Steinbach, Bridget Robinson Lassiter and Peter Woods.

You may use these photos, so long as you give credit to AquaPlant.

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