MILKWEED FAMILY 



ASCLEPIADACEAE 



PURPLE MILKWEED 



AscUpias purpurascens L. 



This species is less common than some of the other Milk- 

 weeds but its large, deep purple flowers are among the most 

 beautiful. It grows in dry soil of fields, roadsides and thickets 



from New Hampshire to North 

 Carolina and west to Minnesota and 

 Arkansas. 



The tough unbranched stem 

 grows 2-4 feet high and is very leafy 

 to the top. The leaves are opposite 

 and smooth above and minutely 

 velvety beneath. The abundant 

 milky juice flows freely when a stem 

 or leaf is broken. 



The umbels of flowers are pro- 

 duced from June to August in several 

 of the upper leaf axils or at the end 

 of the stem. The corolla is deep 

 purple and the hoods, oblong and 

 nearly twice as long as the anthers, 

 are somewhat paler. The horns are 

 broad at the base but taper to a 

 sharp point and curve inward. The 

 fruiting pedicels are deflexed and the 

 downy follicles are nearly erect and 

 4-5 inches long. 



The Common Milkweed, Asclepias 

 syriaca L,, is probably most familiar for 

 it is an ever-present weed in rich fields 

 and along roadsides. Its greenish white 

 to dull purple flowers are less brilliant 

 than in some of the other species; their 

 odor is heavy and not pleasant to 

 human beings, but they produce a 

 wealth of nectar for bees and butterflies. The stout stem is 3-5 feet 

 tall and the broadly oval leaves are 4-9 inches long and minutely 

 downy beneath. The pods are 3-5 inches long and rough with short 

 soft processes. The flat brownish seeds bear an abundance of white 

 silky hairs or down that has often been used for stuffing pillows. 



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