Asclepias cordifolia

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Asclepias cordifolia

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Asclepias
Species:
A. cordifolia
Binomial name
Asclepias cordifolia

Asclepias cordifolia is a species of

Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges. Heart-leaf milkweed was valued by the Native American Miwok tribe for its stems, which they dried and processed into string and rope.[3]

Description

Asclepias cordifolia follicle

Heart-leaf milkweed is a perennial that grows to a height of 0.3 to 0.6 m (1 to 2 ft), with dark red-purple flowers whose hoods are slightly elevated above the base of the corolla.

cordate, or heart-shaped.[5] The plant grows in open or shaded woodland, often on rocky slopes and in mixed coniferous forest.[6] The milkweeds are named for the milky sap which exudes from the plant's stem.[5]

It blooms from May to July.[6]

Taxonomy

The species name, cordifolia (Latin for 'heart-leaved'), refers to the heart-shaped leaves, while the genus name honors the Greek physician Asclepius.[6]

Ecology

Monarch butterfly caterpillars are commonly found on all the milkweeds, including the heart-leaf milkweed. Even after the caterpillar has metamorphosed into a butterfly, the alkaloids they ingest from the plant are retained in the butterfly, making it unpalatable to predators.[5]

Uses

The

Yokuts or Mariposa in northern and central California for string or rope.[3]

A single Miwok feather skirt or cape was made with approximately 100 feet of cordage, requiring about 500 plant stalks. A 40-foot-long deer net contained about 7,000 feet of cordage, requiring the harvesting of approximately 35,000 plant stalks. The milkweed stalks were burned in the fall to eliminate dead stalks and stimulate the next year's growth, and to stimulate flower and seed production.

Field Museum of three- and four-ply Miwok cordage.[8]

Heart-leaf milkweed was also used as a contraceptive and snakebite remedy,[6] though without proper preparation it can cause vomiting in low doses and death in higher doses due to a mix of cardenolides in the sap. At one time it was classified as a noxious weed because of reported negative effects on livestock.[7]

References

  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer - Asclepias cordifolia". NatureServe Explorer Asclepias cordifolia. NatureServe. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. ^ Asclepias cordifolia at USDA PLANTS Database
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-87905-921-7
    .
  4. ^ Jepson Manual
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-520-21583-2
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1-56044-981-2
    .
  7. ^ a b "Asclepias cordifolia" (PDF). USDA Plant Guide. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  8. ISBN 978-0-939666-12-6
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asclepias_cordifolia&oldid=1194621253"