POKE MILKWEED 



Asclepias phytolaccoides Pursh 



BLUNT-LEAVED 

 MILKWEED 



Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm. 



Summer Theiv arc throe milkweeds which are widely difFerent 



Prairie roadsides, yet contain as (.haraeteristics the basic requirements 



sands, woods dI" a niilkwoiMl — milky juice. o])j)c)site loaves, intricate 



ilowers designed in such a nuunu'r that insects ol'ten 



are trapped dnrinij the process of pollination. 



Green milkweed {Acerates viridiflora) is a plant of the prairies and 

 dry soil. Although it is not as coloii'ul as some of the other milkweeds, its 

 tlelicate <:reen Ilowers nevertheless ari' decidedly ornanu-ntal. They lack 

 the liorn structure of other milkweeds. The thiwers are tightly held, green 

 and white l)l<>ssoiiis anaiigcd in a whoi'led chister in the axils of long, 

 narrow, veiny leaves. 



Blunt-leaved milkweed {Asclepias aniijlcvicaulis) is a plant of the 

 sand country, a ])lant of utmost economy of leaf, flower, and fruit. The 

 short, pale stem seldom has \novr than three pairs of stendess. pale green, 

 ])ink-veined leaves. The lowest pair usually is nuu-h smaller, and all six 

 are lluted, thick, and largo. Above them stands the stiff stem tojjpod with 

 typical milkweed Ilowers held apart from each other in a sparse cluster. 

 The flowers are pale jtinkish-whiti' with green .«epals. Usually only one 

 or two largo seed pods result from the head of flowers. 



Poke milkweed {A.'<clci>ias phytolaccoides) is a lanky, thin-leaved 

 plant of the deep woods. In midsununer its green and white and pale pink 

 ilowers are in bloom among the plants on a half sunny, half shady, dry 

 hillside in the oak woods. 



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