28 



ASCLEPIADACEAE. 



VOL. III. 



10. Asclepias amplexicaulis J. E. Smith. Blunt-leaved Milkweed. Fig. 3392. 



A. amplexicaulis J. E. Smith, Georgia Insects 1:13. 

 pi. 7- 1797- 



A. obtusifolia Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. i : 115. 1803. 



Nearly glabrous, pale green, somewhat glau- 

 cous ; stem stout, erect or ascending, 2-3 high. 

 Leaves sessile, oblong or ovate-oblong, obtuse 

 and mucronulate at the apex, cordate-clasping at 

 the base, $'-5' long, l' if' wide, margins wavy- 

 crisped; umbels many-flowered, usually solitary 

 on the long terminal peduncle, rarely with a 

 second shorter-peduncled one at its base ; pedi- 

 cels slender, downy, about i' long; corolla-seg- 

 ments oblong, greenish-purple, about 4" long; 

 column thick; hoods pink, nearly truncate and 

 toothed at the summit, shorter than the subulate 

 incurved horn, longer than the anthers; follicles 

 erect on the stout decurved fruiting pedicels, 

 downy, 4'-6' long. 



In dry fields, mostly in sandy soil, New Hamp- 

 shire to Florida, northern New York, Minnesota, 

 Nebraska and Texas. Ascends to 3000 ft. in Vir- 

 ginia. May-Aug. 



A. Bicknellii Vail, Bull. Torn Club 31: 458, is ap- 

 parently a hybrid between A. amplexicaulis J. E. 

 Smith and A. exaltata (L.) Muhl. 



ii. Asclepias intermedia Vail. Intermediate 

 Milkweed. Fig. 3393. 



A. intermedia Vail, Bull. Torr. Club 31: 459. 1904. 



Stem erect, glabrous, purplish, not glaucous, about 

 l high. Leaves oblong-elliptic, glabrous above, mi- 

 nutely pubescent beneath, 6' long or less, obtuse at 

 both ends or the upper subcordate at the base, the 

 petioles very short; umbels 2 or more, terminal, pe- 

 duncled, the peduncles and slender pedicels pubes- 

 cent ; corolla green-purple, its oblong-lanceolate seg- 

 ments 3"-4" long, the erect hoods ovate-lanceolate, 

 obtuse, about 3" long, pink-purple, with a darker 

 stripe on the back, the margins with an erect tooth 

 above the middle, the horn slender. 



Lawrence, Long Island. Possibly a hybrid between 

 A. syriaca and A. amplexicaulis. 



12. Asclepias Meadii Torr. Mead's Milkweed. 

 Fig- 3394- 



A. Meadii Torr. ; A. Gray, Man. Ed. 2, Add. 704. 1856. 



Nearly glabrous throughout, pale green or glaucous; 

 stem simple, or rarely branched above, i-2 high. 

 Leaves opposite, sessile, flat, mostly distant, ovate, 

 ovate-lanceolate, lanceolate or the lower oblong, acute 

 or sometimes obtuse at the apex, the margins scabrous ; 

 umbel solitary, terminal, several-flowered, borne on a 

 peduncle 3'-6' long; corolla-segments greenish, ovate, 

 acute, 3"-4" long; column very short, thicker than 

 high; hoods ovate, purplish, nearly twice as long as 

 the anthers, rounded and truncate at the summit, 

 longer than the subulate inflexed horn, with a small 

 tooth at each side on the inner infolded margin; folli- 

 cles erect on decurved pedicels, minutely puberulent, 

 narrow, 4'-5' long. 



In dry soil, Illinois to Iowa and Wisconsin. June-Aug. 



