SafePlants

Tufted Milkweed (Asclepias nummularia)

Tufted Milkweed, scientifically known as Asclepias nummularia, is also referred to by its Spanish name, talayote.

Considerations for Pets

• The text mentions that milkweeds, including Tufted Milkweed, contain milky sap.
• After pods mature, they split lengthwise, releasing numerous tufted seeds.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

• Scientific Name: Asclepias nummularia Torr.
• Common Name: Tufted Milkweed
• Family: Dogbane (Apocynaceae)
• Rank: Species

Distribution and Habitat

• Asclepias nummularia is native to the US, specifically Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
• It is found in the Madrean Scrub-Grassland, near Sheehy Spring in the San Rafael Valley, Arizona.
• Habitats include dry mesas and slopes, rocky hillsides, arid grasslands, and dry ravines in gravel or clay.

Morphological Characteristics

• Asclepias nummularia is a perennial forb/herb, meaning it is a non-woody plant that is not a grass.
• It is described as diminutive.
• The plant produces pods that split open to release tufted seeds.

Interactions with Other Organisms

• Euchaetes egle, the milkweed tussock caterpillar or milkweed tiger moth, is a common feeder on milkweed plants. The female lays eggs on plants without Monarch larvae.
• Monarch butterflies are attracted to milkweed.

Quirky Facts

• Milkweed seeds are tufted with fine hairs that are more buoyant than cork and warmer than goose down, aiding in wind dispersal.

Further Information

• View Tufted milkweed observations on iNaturalist.
• View Tufted milkweed plant information at Wildflower.org.
• USDA PLANTS Database: for MILKWEED NATIVE TO TEXAS Sce.
• Discover Life's page about the biology, natural history, ecology, identification and distribution of Asclepias nummularia.
• Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History has a Lectotype for Asclepias nummularia Torr. in Emory Catalog.