ASCLEPIADACEAE. Vor. IIT. 
Asclepias purpurascens 1. Sp. Pl. 214. 
?Asclepias amoena L. Sp. Pl. 214. 
1753. 
4. Asclepias rubra L. Red Milkweed. 
Fig. 3386. 
Asclepias rubra L. Sp. Pl. 217. 1753. 
Nearly glabrous throughout; stem usually sim- 
ple, 1°-4° high. Leaves opposite, rather distant, 
short-petioled, ovate, lanceolate or the lower some- 
times oblong, rounded or subcordate at the base, 
gradually acuminate, rather firm, 3’-8’ long, 1’-23 
wide, the primary nerves wide-spreading; umbels 
1-4, many-flowered; peduncles shorter than or 
equalling the upper leaves; pedicels slender, downy, 
4-1’ long; corolla-segments and hoods lanceolate- 
oblong, purplish red, or the hoods orange-red, 
3-4” long, or flowers sometimes greenish; horns 
of the hoods very slender, nearly straight; fruiting 
pedicels deflexed, the follicles erect, spindle-shaped, 
glabrous, about 4’ long. 
In moist soil, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to Flor- 
ida, Missouri, Louisiana and Texas. June-July. 
Stem stout, puberulent or glabrous, usually sim- 
ple, 2°-4° high, leafy to the top. Leaves ovate, 
elliptic or oblong, short-petioled, acute or obtuse 
and mucronulate at the apex, narrowed or round- 
ed at the base, nearly glabrous above, finely 
tomentose beneath, 3’-8’ long, 14’-3’ wide, the 
primary nerves very wide-spreading; umbels 
many-flowered, borne in several of the upper 
axils, or sometimes solitary; peduncles stout; 
pedicels slender, puberulent, 1/13’ long; corolla 
deep purple, its segments oblong to oblong-lan- 
ceolate, about 3” long; column very short and 
thick; hoods oblong or ovate, nearly twice as 
long as’the anthers, pale red or purple, the horns 
broad at the insertion, short-subulate and incurved 
at the apex; fruiting pedicels deflexed, the 
downy follicles nearly erect, 4’-5’ long. 
In dry fields and thickets, New Hampshire to 
North Carolina, west to southern Ontario, Minne- 
sota and Arkansas. Ascends to 2000 ft. in the Cats- 
6. Asclepias incarhata L. Swamp Milk- 
weed. Fig. 3388. 
Asclepias incarnata L. Sp. Pl. 215. 1753. 
Stem slender, glabrous, or puberulent in 2 lines 
above, branched or rarely simple, 2°-4° high, 
leafy to the top. Leaves lanceolate or oblong- 
lanceolate, acuminate at the apex, narrowed, ob- 
tuse or sometimes subcordate at the base, 3'-6’ 
long, 3’-13’ wide, the primary nerves not wide- 
spreading; petioles 3-6” long; umbels usually 
numerous, corymbed, many-flowered; pedicels 
pubescent, 5-10” long; corolla red or rose- 
purple, rarely white, its lobes oblong, about 2” 
long; column more than one-half as long as the 
obtuse pink or purplish hoods; horns slender, in- 
curved, longer than the hoods; anther-wings en- 
tire, or obscurely notched at the base; fruiting 
pedicels erect or incurved; follicles erect, 2’~34' 
long, sparingly puberulent. 
In swamps, New Brunswick to Ontario, Saskatch- 
ewan, Tennessee, Louisiana and Colorado. Ascends 
to 3000 ft. in West Virginia. Rose- or swamp-silk- 
weed. Waternerve-root. White Indian-hemp. July-Sept. 
