Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asclepias variegata
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Even when not in bloom, a careful observer can identify A. variegata by its few pairs of rather broadly rounded opposite leaves. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
See diagrams of milkweed flower structure at Wayne's Word.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias variegata
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-012:
Asclepias variegata FAMILY Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Biventraria variegata
COMMON NAME:
White Milkweed, Redring Milkweed, Variegated Milkweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_asva_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0405zb_32
May Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm070528_137
May Laurens County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
The petals are flaring, the hoods sac-like, and the horns very short, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm070528_137b
May Laurens County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
Pollinator at work.
)
JK Marlow jkm100501_004
May Anderson County SC
Clemson Forest
4-6 pr of broad, ovate-oblong leaves, dark green above, pale & hairy below, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm100501_006
May Anderson County SC
Clemson Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm100514_056
May Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
In an umbel, the flower stalks arise from a common point, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm110522_599
May Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm110522_606
May Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm160531_027
May Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm210523_0677
May Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Each flower white, a purple ring surrounding the fused anthers and style, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).
)
JK Marlow jkm210523_0679
May Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Leaves petiolate, oval to widely elliptical, to 5.5" long, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_asclepias_variegata
May
)
JK Marlow jkm0406d_17
June Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asclepias variegata
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias variegata
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-012:
Asclepias variegata
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Biventraria variegata
140
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Upland forests and woodlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
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
Opposite
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Bright white
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed corolla, lobes reflexed
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers in 1-4 umbels, terminal & from upper leaf axils
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Follicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About North Carolina Wildflowers p014
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p110
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p113
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p107
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p204
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p252
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p264
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p127
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p148
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p067
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p204
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p052
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p193
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p230
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p128
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p124
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