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Milkweed-all same? (pics)

16 years ago

Ok, I originally thought that I only had common milkweed. While walking out today, I notice I now have white also. then I also started noticing other differences between plants. So can you tell me if these are all the same, or different varieties.

This one's blooms are white to yellow, and has larger rounder leaves, and the center vein is whitish.

This one looks alot like #3, but the blooms are smaller, it's taller, and the leaves are narrower and have a white vein.

This one was what I thought was common milkweed, it was the first to bloom. But it has slightly narrower leaves than #1, that all have a red vein in the center. And the blooms are larger than #2.

This is also the same plant as #3, It just was a pic I took a little over a week ago. It shows the color of the blooms better.

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Comments (7)

carol23_gw
16 years ago
I think you have a couple of species there.
Since nobody has replied I have a suggestion :
Look at the web site below, Miissourplants.com, to view some of the species that may fit your photos.

I looked at the USDA database of Asclepias native to Michigan . There are quite a few - about a dozen. Some of those were obviously not the species you have.

Look at A. purpurascens with the dark purple in the midrib of the leaf.

A. speciosa
A. syriaca
A. sullivantii

http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/pr_milkweedx.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri plants
kek19
Original Author
16 years ago
I was wondering about A. pupurascens and A. sullivantii too. Here in Mi, A.p is a special concern plant and A. s is state protected.

A. syriaca seems to have flowers up and down the stalks in all the pics I saw, none of mine do that, they are all flowering at the top only.

A. speciosa flowers are quite different than what I have too.

I'm wondering if I have a bunch of crosses....

Thanks for your response carol23!
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paalexan
16 years ago
My best guess here would be that all of these are Asclepias syriaca... although it wouldn't surprise me if one is Asclepias purpurascens. Asclepias speciosa & Asclepias sullivantii can be ruled out by either flower shape or petiole length, respectively.

The two things that would make certain ID possible would be knowing if the leaves are hairy underneath, and having close views of the individual flowers.

Patrick
kek19
Original Author
16 years ago
They are all slightly fuzzy underneath. The white one is definantly fuzzier though. It would take me a while to get a close up of individual flowers, my slr isn't digital, so I'd have to get the film developed. I'll try to get the petiole lengths.

To be honest, the differences between the 3 aren't much; the slight diff shape of the leaves, the color of the viens, and the color of the blooms, the actual flowers look pretty much the same. Unless there's something I'm not noticing.
kek19
Original Author
16 years ago
Ok, here's what I did, I took one flower (ok 2 from 2) and scanned them on the scanner, once face down, once flat on the side. The white (#1) and purple (#3) flowers are pretty much the same shape. #2 has smaller flowers, with a white center, where as #3 has a purple/mauve center.
Here are the pics: (the colors are true)

The petiole lengths, w/ my measurement skills, are about #1 7/16 inch #2 3/16 inch #3 3/8 inch...hmm...maybe I should've gotten out the ruler instead of the tape measurer and done it in cm...

On another note, I aslo have some milkweed that have pointed wide leaves w/ the red vien, they haven't bloomed yet though.
Iris GW
16 years ago
I think he meant the leaf petiole, is that what you measured?

Great use of scanner, by the way!
kek19
Original Author
16 years ago
Yeah I did measure the leaf petiole. I'm fairly new to flowers and gardening in general, so bare with me here. I measured the "stem" of the leaves. From the stalk to the actual leaf. Like I said, maybe I should go out there w/ an actual ruler, I used my husbands construction tape measurer, which was big and bulky to get in there. Oh, I forgot i had this pic. It was taken the same time as the last pic of #3, but w/ the SLR so the buds are clearer.
{{gwi:84883}}

Wow, I'm turning this into a real pic thread aren't I?

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