ASCLEPIADACE^E. (MILKWEED FAMILY.) 353 



7. A. quadrifolia, Jacq. (FOUR-LEAVED MILKWEED.) Nearly smooth 

 (10'- 18' high), slender; leaves ovate, or sometimes oiate-lanccolate, petioled, usually 

 tape\ -pointed, the middle ones in whorls of four ; pedicels capillary ; divisions of the 

 (pal* pink] corolla oblong ; hoods of the white crown elliptical-ovate, the incurved 

 horn short and thick ; pods linear-lanceolate, smooth. Dry woods and hills ; 

 rather common. June. Leaves 2' -4' long, variable on the same plant, some- 

 times all opposite, rarely with two whorls. Umbels 2 - 5 ; peduncles !'-!' 

 long : the flowers rather small (corolla-lobes 2" long), but handsome. 



8. A. parviflora, Pursh. (SMALL-FLOWEKED MILKWEED.) Nearly 

 smooth; the stems (l-2 high) persistent, or slightly woody towards the base, 

 slender ; leaves lanceolate, tapering to both ends, petioled, all opposite ; umbels 

 somewhat panicled, pedicels much shorter than the peduncle ; flowers white 

 ringed with purplish (the buds l"long); divisions of the corolla ovate; the 

 slender incurved horn longer than the hood. S. Indiana, Illinois, and south- 

 ward. July. Coma of the seeds wanting. 



9. A. Obtusifolia, Michx. (WAVY-LEAVED MILKWEED.) Smooth and 

 ylaucous; stem simple (2 -3 high), bearing a single terminal umbel on a long naked 

 peduncle (3'- 12' long) ; leaves oblong or ovate-elliptical, very obtuse but mucronate 

 (2 -5' long), sessile and partly clasping by a heart-shaped base, the margins wavy ; 

 pedicels very numerous, elongated ; divisions of the (greenish-purple} corolla ob- 

 long ; hoods of the crown truncate and somewhat toothed at the summit, shorter 

 than the slender awl-pointed horn ; pods smoothish. Sandy woods and fields : 

 not rare. July. Flowers large (petals 4" -5" long). 



10. A. rubra, L. (RED-FLOWERED MILKWEED.) Smooth, slender ( 1 - 

 2 high), bearing 1-3 few-flowered umbels at the naked summit of the stem (on a 

 peduncle 2' -3' long) ; leaves ovate-lanceolate or oblong-ovate, tapering to a very sharp 

 point, ronndtd or slightly heart-shaped at the base, very short-pet ioled ; divisions of the 

 corolla (reddish-purple) lanceolate, acute; hoods of the crown oblong, acutish (pur- 

 ple tinged with orange), with an awl-shaped and slightly incurved short horn ; 

 pods smooth. (A. laurifolia, Michx. A. acuminata, Pursh.) Low grounds, 

 pine barrens of New Jersey to Virginia and southward. July. Leaves 2' -4' 

 long, rough-dilate. 



11. A. paupcrcilla, Michx. Very imooth; stem wand-like, slender (2 - 

 3 high), bearing 1 - several few-flowered umbels at the summit of a naked and usu- 

 al! v elongated tenninal peduncle (rarely with one or two lateral ones); haves 

 linear, much elongated, slightly petioled ; divisions of the (purple) corolla linear- 

 oblong, half the length of the pedicels; hoods of the crown (orange-yellow) spat- 

 ulate-oblong, much longer than the awl-shaped incurved horn. Wet pine bar 

 rens, New Jersey to Virginia near the coast, and southward. July, Aug. - 

 Leaves 5' -10' long, l"-6" broad; the flowers large and showy. 



+ - Stem paniculately branching. 



12. A. incarnata, L. (SWAMP MILKWEED.) Smooth, or nearly so, 

 the stem with two downy lines above and on the branches of the peduncles 

 (2 -3 high), very leafy ; leaves oblong-lanceolate, acute or pointed, obtuse at 

 the base, distinctly petioled ; umbels many-flowered, somewhat panicled, on 

 peduncles half the length of the leaves ; divisions of the corolla ovate, reddish- 



