W17 



SPREADING DOGBANE 



Apo'cynum androsaemifo'Iium 



Flowers white, pink, or rose, fragrant. 

 stalked, with small, narrow, pointed 

 bracts, in clusters at or near ends of 

 branches 



United petals (corolla) bell-shaped, 

 5-lobed 



Outer united flower parts (calyx) 

 much shorter than corolla, 5-lobed 



Leaves-yopposite, stalked, rather thick, 

 1 to 4 in. long, egg-shaped, abruptly 

 sharp-pointed at tip, dark green and 

 smooth above, paler and hairy below 



Stamens 5, alternating with 5 tri- 

 angular, scale-like appendages 



Stems-y-erect, often reddish, with 

 spreading branches 



Seed pods (follicles) in pairs, slender, 

 round in cross section, up to 5 in. 

 long, splitting along- 1 side; seeds 

 numerous, each with tuft of long, 

 silky-white hairs 



Roots tough, woody 



Spreading dogbane, a perennial herb containing a sticky, milky juice, belongs 

 to the dogbane family (Apocynaceae) and is widely distributed, but not abund- 

 ant, over most of the United States, as well as in parts of Alaska and Canada. 

 It ranges from Nova Scotia to Alaska, and south to California, Texas, and 

 Georgia, from sea level or fairly low elevations on the plains up to 11,000 feet 

 in the mountains, growing in open timber stands and brushy areas, but appear- 

 ing in greatest abundance on rather dry, exposed sites. Frequently, it forms 

 dense stands on abandoned homesteads and over-utilized areas, and is common 



