Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asclepias quadrifolia
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Fourleaf Milkweed at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
See diagrams of milkweed flower structure at Wayne's Word.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias quadrifolia
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-009:
Asclepias quadrifolia FAMILY Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Asclepias quadrifolia
COMMON NAME:
Fourleaf Milkweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_asqu_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm160422_066
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm160422_068
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm070526_052
May Polk County NC
A slender delicate plant with thin ovate-lanceolate leaves, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm120505_329
May Rabun County GA
Chattahoochee National Forest
Upper and lower leaves opposite & small; middle usually a whorl of 4 & large, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm120517_813
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Hood opening very oblique, the hood therefore scoop-shaped, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm120517_818
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm120517_836
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm120517_842
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate to elliptic, 4-12cm long, membranous, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_a_quadrifolia_6
May
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_a_quadrifolia_8
May
Corolla lobes reflexed; corona spreading, its horns shorter than its hoods, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_asclepias_quadrifolia
May
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asclepias quadrifolia
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias quadrifolia
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-009:
Asclepias quadrifolia
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Asclepias quadrifolia
136
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist to dryish forests and forest margins, most common on mafic and calcareous substrates, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains (uncommon in NC Piedmont, rare in SC Piedmont)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Simple
Upper and lower leaves opposite, middle 4 leaves appearing whorled
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Greenish/White/Pink
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed corolla, lobes reflexed
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers in 2-4 umbels, terminal or from upper leaf axils
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Follicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p107
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p078
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p144
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p264
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p371
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p070
- Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: Northeastern US (Clemants & Gracie, 2006) p330
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p051
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p192
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p229
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p127
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".