ASCLEPIAS. 



ASCLEPIADACEiE. 



119 



* Follicles muricatc with soft spines. 



1. Asclepias Cornuti, Decaisne. Silktveed. Milkweed. 



Stem mostly simple, thick, nearly smooth ; leaves ovate- elliptical, obtuse or with a short 

 abrupt point, velvety pubescent underneath, the petioles short ; umbels lateral and terminal, 

 somewhat nodding, many-flowered ; lobes of the crown ovate , the margin 2-toothed at the 

 base ; horn as long as the lobe. — Decaisne in DC. prodr. 8. p. 564. A. Syriaca, Linn. sp. 



1. p. 214 ; Parsh, fl. 1. p. 181 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 273 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 101 ; Beck, hot. 

 p. 235 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 169 ; Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 52. A. Syriaca, (3., Michx. 

 fl. 1. p. 114. A. Syriaca, /3. Illinoensis, Pers. syn. 1. p. 275. 



Root long and fleshy, branching. Stem 3-4 feet high, erect. Leaves 4-8 inches long 

 and 2-3 inches wide, nearly smooth above, whitish pubescent underneath. Umbels 2-3, 

 or sometimes rather numerous, each bearing from 50 to 100 flowers ; the pedicels an inch or 

 more in length, hairy. Flowers sweet-scented. Calyx about half as long as the corolla, 

 hairy ; the lobes lanceolate. Corolla dull greenish purple, sometimes pale ; the segments 

 oblong- lanceolate, at first spreading, but soon turned downward. Stamineal crown erect- 

 spreading ; the lobes thick and fleshy, concave , the margin 1- (or sometimes 2-) toothed on 

 each side : horn curved, broad at the base and sharp-pointed, resembling the claw of a cat, 

 the point just reaching the margin of the stigma. Stamens closely surrounding the pistils ; 

 the filaments united into a tube : anthers united to the stigma at the upper part, 2-celled on 

 the inside, with a projecting wing-like cartilaginous margin or appendage, which is broader 

 below ; a longitudinal chink appearing between the margins of each contiguous pair of anthers. 

 Pollen-masses yellowish and waxy, suspended by pairs in the cells of the anthers ; each pair 

 being lodged in the cells of two adjoining anthers, and connected with the arms or processes 

 of the gland : terminal membrane of the anthers inflexed over the top of the stigma. Ovaries 



2, tapering into short styles, which are surmounted by a large 5-angled stigma, to the angles 

 of which are attached the glands with their processes. In the young flower-bud, the pollen- 

 masses are quite unconnected with the stigma ; but before the expansion of the flower, they 

 become firmly united with the arms of the glands or corpuscles. Follicles 3-5 inches long 

 and an inch or more in diameter, erect, woolly, of a papery texture, ventricose and acuminate, 

 armed with flexible spines about one-fourth of an inch long. Seeds closely imbricated, flat, 

 ovate, with a winged margin, crowned with a tuft of long white silky hairs. 



Old fields and road-sides ; common. June - July. I have followed Decaisne in changing 

 the name of this species, it not being a native of Syria as was once supposed. It has, how- 

 ever, become naturalized in some parts of Europe. The silky hair of the seeds is sometimes 

 used for beds, as a substitute for feathers. The young shoots are said to resemble asparagus. 

 Dr. Knieskern informs me that the dried leaves are employed in preparing the indigo dye in 

 woollen manufactories. 



