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showy milkweed
Scientific Name: Asclepias speciosa
Family: Asclepiadaceae
Category: Dicot
Growth: Forb/herb
Duration: Perennial
Other Names: IA (showy milkweed)
Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
Asclepias speciosa, commonly known as showy milkweed, is a perennial plant prized for its attractive flowers and ecological importance.
Considerations for Pets
- Showy Milkweed contains milky sap.
Considerations for Livestock
- Showy Milkweed has been known to cause sickness to livestock that consume it.
Common Names
- Showy Milkweed
- Showy Butterfly Weed
- Creek Milkweed
- Greek Milkweed
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Scientific Name: Asclepias speciosa
- Family: Apocynaceae (Dogbane Family), formerly Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed family)
- Authority: Torr.
Distribution and Habitat
- Showy milkweed is native to much of the western half of North America.
- It is commonly found in western states from Texas to California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and southern B.C.
- It often occurs on rocky slopes, woodland areas, along roadsides, ditchbanks, pastures, cultivated fields, or along waterways like the Truckee River.
Ecological Role
- Showy milkweed is a crucial host plant for monarch butterflies, providing a place for them to lay their eggs. The larvae feed exclusively on milkweed leaves.
- It also attracts checkerspots, hairstreaks, honeybees, hummingbirds, and painted lady butterflies.
- In Montana, it is not classified as a noxious weed, recognizing its importance for Monarch butterfly habitat.
Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits
- It is a milky-sapped perennial plant with stems reaching 2 to 4 feet (1/2-3 ft. to 36-40 inches).
- The leaves are large, oval or elliptic to ovate, blue-green or gray, measuring approximately 5 to 8 inches long. They are arranged oppositely on the stem with short petioles or clasping.
- It features showy, spherical or compound clusters (4-5" across) of rose-colored or pinkish-purple flowers with fine hairs. Individual flowers are star-shaped, about 1 inch across, with 5 parts.
- The plant spreads through underground rhizomes, but is considered less aggressive than common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).
- Fruits are described as 4" horns.
- Stems are erect and often hairy.
Quirky Facts
- The flower clusters have been compared to "a Forth of July."
Further Information
- USDA NRCS Corvallis Plant Materials Center
- Dave's Garden (website)
- CalPhotos