DESCRIPTIVE MANUAL 



237 



136-B. Distribution of Indian Hemp. 



Extermination. — This weed should he treated like spreading 

 dogbane. 



ASCLEPIADACEAE, MILKWEED FAMILY. 



A few plants, only, are of economic importance. Some are cul- 

 tivated for ornamental purposes. In Iowa they are commonly 

 called milkweeds. 



Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa Torr.). 



Description.— A perennial 1-4 ft. high, white-tomentose or ca- 

 nescent; leaves thick, broadly ovate or oval, petioled; pedicel 

 glabrate above ; flowers borne in dense umbels or rarely solitary, 

 the pedicels stout; corolla purplish green, large, follicle erect or 

 spreading on the recurved pedicels. 



Distribution. — Showy milkweed is common from Minnesota to 

 southern Iowa, Kansas, the Rocky mountains and Utah. In Iowa 

 it is abundant in Emmet, Palo Alto and Dickinson counties. 



Extermination. — This weed should be treated like common milk- 

 weed. 



