GENUS 1. MILKWEED FAMILY. 29 
13. Asclepias exaltata (L.) Muhl. Poke or 
Tall Milkweed. Fig. 3395. 
A, Syriaca var. evaltata L, Sp. Pl. Ed. 2, 313. 1762. 
Asclepias exaltata Muhl. Cat. 28, 1813. 
A, phytolaccoides Pursh, Fl, Am, Sept. 180. 1814. 
_Nearly glabrous throughout, with two opposite 
lines of pubescence on the usually simple stem, 3°-6° 
high. Leaves opposite, thin or membranous, oval, 
ovate or oblong, acuminate at both ends, 4’-0’ long, 
13-4’ wide, the lower sometimes obovate, obtuse, 
shorter; petioles 4-1’ long; peduncles 1’-3’ long; 
umbels usually several; pedicels slender, drooping 
or spreading, 1’-2’ long, puberulent; corolla green- 
purple, the segments ovate or oblong, obtusish, 
3-4” long; column short; hoods white or pink, 
slightly shorter than the anthers, much shorter than 
the subulate horn, at the summit truncate and entire 
or erose, with I or 2 slender teeth on each of the 
inner margins; follicles erect on the deflexed pedi- 
cels, downy, long-acuminate, 4’-6’ long. 
In thickets and woods, Maine to Minnesota, Georgia, 
Missouri and Arkansas, Ascends to 5500 ft, in North 
Carolina, June-Aug. 
Asclepias variegata L. Sp. Pl. 217. 1753. 
Stem glabrous below, pubescent above when 
young, simple, 1°-3° high. Leaves opposite, thick, 
oval, ovate, oblong or the lower somewhat obo- 
vate, obtuse and cuspidate or acutish at the apex, 
narrowed or rounded at the base, dark green 
above, pale beneath, 3’-6’ long, 1’-3’ wide, the 
middle ones sometimes verticillate in 4’s; petioles 
3°-12” long; umbels 1-4, terminal, or rarely 1 or 
2 in the upper axils, densely many-flowered; pe- 
duncles 1’-2’ long; pedicels 4’-13’ long, erect or 
ascending, usually densely puberulent; corolla- 
segments ovate or oval, about 3” long, white, or 
purple near the base; column very short and 
thick, purplish; hoods globose-obovoid, obtuse, 
spreading, longer than the anthers, about equal- 
ling the semi-lunate horizontally pointed horn; 
follicles downy, erect on the deflexed fruiting 
pedicels, 4’-5’ long. 
In dry woods or thickets, Connecticut (?), south- 
ern New York to Illinois, Arkansas, Florida and 
Texas. June-July. 
15. Asclepias quadrifolia Jacq. Four- 
leaved Milkweed. Fig. 3397. 
A, quadrifolia Jacq. Obs. Part 2, 8 pl. 33. 1767. 
Stem slender, simple, 1°-2° high, usually leaf- 
less below. Leaves thin, sparingly pubescent on 
the veins beneath, ovate to lanceolate, 2-6’ long, 
4/-23’ wide, acute. or acuminate, narrowed or 
rounded at the base, or the lowest pair much 
smaller, obovate and obtuse, the upper and lower 
opposite, the’ middle ones usually verticillate in 
4’s; umbels 1-4, terminal, or rarely in the upper 
axils; peduncles slender, 3’-24’ long; pedicels 
about 1’ long; corolla pink or nearly white, its | 
lobes lanceolate-oblong, 2”-3” long; column short; 
hoods white, obtuse at the apex, broadly 2-toothed 
above the base, twice as long as the anthers and 
the short incurved horn; follicles erect on the 
erect fruiting pedicels, 3’-5’ long, glabrous. 
Woods and thickets, Maine and Ontario to Minne- 
sota, Alabama and Arkansas. May-July. 
