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docmom_mn_zone_5

What type of milkweed is this?

docmom_gw
10 years ago

I moved into a home 18 months ago. There is an overgrown bed with lots of different weedy stuff, including saplings and perennials that may have been planted purposefully or self seeded. Today I found a bunch of plants that appear to be some sort of milkweed. They have the milky sap and a growth habit similar to my incarnata, but it's definitely a different variety. I'll post a picture of the unknown here, and a picture of my incarnata in a separate post.

Comments (16)

  • docmom_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    My incarnata, taller transplants and smaller yearlings.

  • butterflymomok
    10 years ago

    Off hand, I can't ID your milkweed. It doesn't appear to be Dogbane which would be my first suspicion. The veins in the leaves appear to be pinkish, and the leaves are not shaped or as thick as dogbane--unless there are varieties I am not familiar with. It should be easier to ID when it flowers. Your Swamp milkweed is looking wonderful.

    Looks like you moved into a place to attract and raise butterflies.

    Sandy

  • MissSherry
    10 years ago

    I don't know what your milkweed is either, but, like Sandy said, you'll be better able to ID it when it blooms.

    Last weekend, I visited the Sweetbay Bog in Stone County, owned by the Nature Conservancy. It's the oddest place!
    There is a sandy path along the edge of the bog, and the bog itself looks like a giant sinkhole full of trees, bushes and other vegetation. They say the bog spicebush grows there, but I didn't see it, because I was afraid to go WAY DOWN into the bog itself. The path along the edge of the tract is sandy, which is odd, since Stone County soil is heavy except in and along streams and rivers. But then there's water in the bog. Along this sandy path grew a milkweed that I think is A. viridiflora. I got a picture -

    {{gwi:495720}}

    It's supposed to have a lot of 'milk' and be used by monarchs, so I'll probably go there later and check it out. Like I've said in other threads, though, I haven't seen any monarchs so far.

    Sherry

  • butterflymomok
    10 years ago

    Sherry,

    The leaves on this milkweed look a lot like the A variegata. It has a ruffled appearance. I checked out viridiflora and noted the leaves are similar to variegata. Actually, variegata has more ruffling. I remember seeing viridiflora somewhere last year. The flowers are different. I think it was down in SW Oklahoma on a butterfly count. I loved the appearance, but had forgotten about it until checking out your reference. Now I will keep an eye out for it and some seed pods.

    Sandy

    This post was edited by butterflymomok on Fri, Jun 21, 13 at 19:23

  • bernergrrl
    10 years ago

    Wonder if it's A. sullivantii (Prairie Milkweed)?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie Milkweed

  • MissSherry
    10 years ago

    I don't know what mine is, but I'll definitely go back and check the progress of it. None of them were in bloom last weekend, and I didn't see any seed pods, even empty ones. The leaves on some of the plants didn't point upward so much, grew more straight out. I'm assuming they'll bloom later, which should help to ID them. And I'll post more pictures, including one of the ones with leaves that grow in a more perpendicular fashion.

    Sherry

  • docmom_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I hope whatever I have growing does bloom. The bed that it is in is very shady. I'll keep my fingers crossed. All the other milkweeds around me are forming buds. I have A. Incarnata and A. Tuberosa in sunnier areas, and down the road there are patches of A. Syriaca and possibly A. Sullivan's at the edge of a wetland area. They all look healthy, but don't appear to be entertaining any Monarch guests yet.

    Martha

  • kchd
    10 years ago

    MissSherry, I think you have yourself a clasping milkweed (A. amplexicaulis). I found a few about 3 weeks ago, up here in Winston Co., MS. I snapped a few photos of it. Note how the leaves really clasp the stem.

    Katie

  • MissSherry
    10 years ago

    That looks exactly like it, Katie. I really need to go back there soon and check for flowers - surely they'll be blooming soon.

    Was the A. amplexicaulis in the picture growing in sandy soil?

    Sherry

  • kchd
    10 years ago

    Sherry, the plant I found was growing in some pretty heavy, "sandy clay" soils. They were in full sun, growing beneath a powerline. Here is a picture of the same plant once it flowered a week later.

  • terrene
    10 years ago

    Great milkweed pics - and such a pretty delicate flower on the A. amplexicaulis.

    My guess for your milkweed, Docmom, is either A. syriaca, A. purpurascens, or A. sullivanti. Can't wait to see the flowers! I am jealous of your A. incarnata. Something keeps eating mine every year - along with the tops of the A. purpurascens. Deer I think, but I didn't think they like milkweed.

  • docmom_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Terrene,
    I had deer come through some time in the past 48 hours and nip the tops off every single New England Aster. The asters were almost touching my tallest A. Incarnata plants, but the deer skipped right over them. Interesting, I haven't seen much deer damage at all, except a few nondescript little hostas that multiply like weeds. Maybe I've chosen deer-safe plants. I do try to pay attention to those little icons in the catalogs that indicate certain plant characteristics. I wonder if I'll need to protect my asters. Time will tell. Hopefully, they'll have more branches and blooms.

    Martha

  • butterflymomok
    10 years ago

    I'm chuckling as asters should be cut back about 50% at this time of the year. Seems like the deer were helping you. Which reminds me. . . got to trim those asters!

    Sandy

  • butterflymomok
    10 years ago

    Docmom,

    KC posted a link to a blog about Ohio Milkweeds on the thread, "Questions about Milkweed", that shows a picture that looks almost identical to your picture. It's of Poke Milkweed. I've never seen this milkweed in person, so am unfamiliar with it. Google or check out the link and see what you think.

    Sandy

  • MissSherry
    10 years ago

    Today I traveled about 1 mile from my house where a tornado tore through the woods last Christmas. The owner of the land finally cleared the broken, fallen trees out, and now there are sprouting stumps everywhere. I was gathering some nice, new growth sweetgum leaves for my luna moths. While I was there, I found some of the clasping milkweed growing on the side of the road -

    {{gwi:495721}}

    The seedpods are REAL big, much bigger than those of A. curassavica. It doesn't look like they're ripe yet, but I'll be visiting the site quite often, anticipating getting some of the seeds. I don't know if monarchs even like this type milkweed, but I'd sure like to have some growing alongside my own road.

    Sherry

  • William Kelly
    6 years ago

    Does anyone have clasping milkweed seeds??? I have been looking for these seeds for a LONG time.

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