Asclepias incarnata

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Asclepias incarnata

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Asclepias
Species:
A. incarnata
Binomial name
Asclepias incarnata
Synonyms[2]
  • Acerates incarnata (L.) Decne.

Asclepias incarnata, the swamp milkweed, rose milkweed, rose milkflower, swamp silkweed, or white Indian hemp, is a

milkweeds, it has latex containing toxic chemicals,[5]
a characteristic that repels insects and other herbivorous animals.

Description

Swamp milkweed is an upright, 100 to 150 cm (39 to 59 in) tall plant, growing from thick, fleshy, white

lance-shaped, with the ends tapering to a sharp point.[6]

The plants bloom in early through mid-summer, producing small,

fragrant, pink to mauve (sometimes white) colored flowers in rounded umbellate racemes. The flower color varies from darker shades of purple through soft, pinkish purple, and a white flowering form exists as well. The actinomorphic flowers have five reflexed petals and an elevated central crown. After blooming, green follicles, approximately 12 cm (4+3⁄4 in) long, are produced that when ripe, split open. They then release light or dark brown flat seeds that are attached to silver-white, silky hairs which catch the wind. This natural mechanism for seed dispersal is similar to that used by other milkweed species.[7]

Taxonomy

As of July 2021[update],

infraspecies,[2] each having numerous synonyms:[8][9]

  • Asclepias incarnata subsp. incarnata
    • Synonym: Asclepias albiflora Raf.
    • Synonym: Asclepias amoena Brongn.
    • Synonym: Asclepias incarnata f. albiflora (Raf.) A.Heller
    • Synonym: Asclepias incarnata f. candida Fernald
    • Synonym: Asclepias incarnata var. glabra Eaton & Wright
    • Synonym: Asclepias incarnata f. rosea B.Boivin
    • Synonym: Asclepias maritima Raf. ex Decne.
    • Synonym: Asclepias verecunda Salisb.
  • Asclepias incarnata subsp. pulchra (Ehrh. ex Willd.) Woodson
    • Synonym: Asclepias incarnata var. neoscotica Fernald
    • Synonym: Asclepias incarnata f. pulchra (Ehrh. ex Willd.) Voss
    • Synonym: Asclepias incarnata var. pulchra (Ehrh. ex Willd.) Pers.
    • Synonym: Asclepias pulchra Ehrh. ex Willd.
    • Synonym: Asclepias pulchra f. albiflora House

The flower stalks and

glabrous.[10]

Habitat

Swamp milkweed prefers moisture-retentive damp soils in full sun or partial shade. It is typically found growing wild near the edges of ponds, lakes, streams, and low areas, or along ditches.

caterpillars
feed on the leaves.

The plants have specialized roots which function in heavy, wet soils. The scented, thick, white roots are in environments low in oxygen. Blooming occurs in mid- through late summer, and after blooming long, relatively thin, rounded follicles are produced that grow uprightly. They split open in late summer through late fall, releasing seeds attached to silky hairs, which act as parachutes that carry the seeds in wind currents.

Cultivation

A. incarnata is cultivated frequently, and a number of cultivars are available. They are used especially in gardens designed to attract butterflies (see Butterfly gardening). The nectar of the plant attracts many other species of insect as well. The plants are also sold as freshly cut flowers, mostly for their long-lasting flower display, but sometimes for the distinctive follicles.

Monarch Watch provides information on rearing monarchs and their host plants.[13] Efforts to increase monarch butterfly populations by establishing butterfly gardens and monarch migratory "waystations" require particular attention to the target species' food preferences and population cycles, as well to the conditions needed to propagate and maintain their food plants.[14][15]

The seeds of some milkweeds need periods of cold treatment (cold stratification) before they will germinate.[16] To protect seeds from washing away during heavy rains and from seed-eating birds, one can cover the seeds with a light fabric or with an 0.5 in (13 mm) layer of straw mulch.[17][18] However, mulch acts as an insulator. Thicker layers of mulch can prevent seeds from germinating if they prevent soil temperatures from rising enough when winter ends. Further, few seedlings can push through a thick layer of mulch.[19]

Breeding monarchs prefer to lay eggs on A. incarnata.[20] The species is therefore often planted in butterfly gardens and "Monarch Waystations" to help sustain monarch butterfly populations.[21] However, A. incarnata is an early successional plant that usually grows at the margins of wetlands and in seasonally flooded areas.[22]

The plant is slow to spread via seeds, does not spread by runners and tends to disappear as vegetative densities increase and habitats dry out. Although A. incarnata plants can survive for up to 20 years, most live only two-five years in gardens. The species is not shade-tolerant and is not a good vegetative competitor.[22]

Images

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64264155A67728543.en
    .
  2. ^ a b "Asclepias incarnata L.". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  3. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Asclepias incarnata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team.
  4. ^ Kirk, S.; Belt, S. "Plant fact sheet for swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)" (PDF). Beltsville, Maryland: United States Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conservation Service: Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
    (3) Holmes, Forest Russell. "Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata L.)". Plant of the Week. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture: United States Forest Service. Archived from the original on March 28, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  5. ISBN 978-0-395-93608-5
    .
  6. OCLC 54691765
    .
  7. ^ "Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)". Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. USGS. August 3, 2006. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  8. ^ "Asclepias incarnata subsp. incarnata". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Asclepias incarnata subsp. pulchra (Ehrh. ex Willd.) Woodson". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  10. ISBN 978-0-89327-516-7
    .
  11. ^ "Asclepias incarnata". Kemper Center for Home Gardening. Missouri Botanical Garden. Archived from the original on 1 April 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  12. doi:10.1002/ecs2.2064
    .
  13. ^ "Monarch Watch". monarchwatch.org. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  14. ^ Borders, Brianna; Lee–Mäder, Eric (2014). "Milkweed Propagation and Seed Production" (PDF). Milkweeds: A Conservation Practitioner's Guide: Plant Ecology, Seed Production Methods, and Habitat Restoration Opportunities. Portland, Oregon: The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. pp. 21–95. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  15. ^ Landis, Thomas D.; Dumroese, R. Kasten (2015). "Propagating Native Milkweeds for Restoring Monarch Butterfly Habitat" (PDF). International Plant Propagators' Society, Combined Proceedings (2014). 64: 299–307. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021 – via United States Department of Agriculture: United States Forest Service.
  16. ^ Multiple sources:
    • Borders, Brianna; Lee–Mäder, Eric (2014). "Milkweed Propagation and Seed Production: Stratification" (PDF). Milkweeds: A Conservation Practitioner's Guide: Plant Ecology, Seed Production Methods, and Habitat Restoration Opportunities. Portland, Oregon: The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. pp. 28–29. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
    • Landis, Thomas D.; Dumroese, R. Kasten (2015). "Propagating Native Milkweeds for Restoring Monarch Butterfly Habitat" (PDF). International Plant Propagators' Society, Combined Proceedings (2014). 64: 302. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021 – via United States Department of Agriculture: United States Forest Service. Many sources of milkweed seeds require stratification (cold, moist treatment) before sowing. In a review of stratification requirements for common milkweed, recommendations varied from as short as 7 days to as long as 11 months at 5°C (41°F) (Luna and Dumroese, 2013). Butterfly milkweed (A. tuberosa) germination increased from 29 to 48 to 62% as stratification duration increased from 0 to 30 to 60 days, respectively (Bir, 1986). Our informal natural stratification trial with showy (milkweed) and narrow leaf milkweed (A. fascicularis) in southern Oregon revealed that seeds began to germinate after 15 weeks in stratification (Fig. 3A).
    • Higgins, Adrian (May 27, 2015). "7 milkweed varieties and where to find them". Home & Garden. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020. Seed may be stubborn to germinate and may need a period of cold treatment..
  17. OCLC 776997073. Retrieved July 7, 2021 – via Internet Archive. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
  18. ^ Landis, Thomas D.; Dumroese, R. Kasten (2015). "Propagating Native Milkweeds for Restoring Monarch Butterfly Habitat: Propagating Native Milkweeds: Seed Propagation" (PDF). International Plant Propagators' Society, Combined Proceedings (2014). 64: 302. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021 – via United States Department of Agriculture: United States Forest Service. Any of the standard seed propagation methods (Landis et al., 1999) are effective with milkweed. Direct sowing of non-stratified seeds during the fall followed by exposure to ambient winter conditions can be effective, but the seeds must be mulched and protected. Cover sown seeds with a thin mulch; research has found that common milkweed seeds germinated better when planted 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in.) deep than when at the soil surface (Jeffery and Robison, 1971).
  19. OCLC 597041748 – via Internet Archive
    .
  20. doi:10.1002/ecs2.2064
    . Retrieved January 7, 2024. In no-choice tests, we saw the highest egg counts on Asclepias incarnata followed by Asclepias sullivantii and Asclepias syriaca (Fig. 2). In preference tests, over half of all eggs laid were on A. incarnata (Fig. 3).
  21. ^ Multiple sources:
  22. ^ a b "Asclepias incarnata". Bring Back The Monarchs. Monarch Watch. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021. Life span: In gardens most plants live two-five years but known to survive up to 20 years. .... Propagation: Slow to spread via seeds. .... 'Overhead Conditions: Not shade tolerant. An early successional plant that tends to grow at the margins of wetlands and in seasonally flooded areas. It is not a good vegetative competitor and tends to disappear as vegetative density increases and habitats dry out.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Asclepias incarnata.
Wikiversity has bloom time data for Asclepias incarnata on the Bloom Clock
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