Asclepias incarnata, commonly called Swamp Milkweed or Rose Milkweed, is a beautiful bi-color pink/white flower, which, in Ohio, can grow about 3-4 feet tall. It grows in damp to wet soil, around ponds, or even in prairies. In blooms after the Common Milkweed in mid-summer. It has a flower head, made up of several flowers in a bunch. Upon close inspection, it’s flowers look to have spikes curved inward and is quite attractive. Even though it’s latex sap is poisonous to most insects and animals if eaten, the butterfly larvae love it and prefer it as their place to lay their eggs and feed.
[embed-google-photos-album link=”https://photos.app.goo.gl/6rr6xwCaFLKjVG29A” mode=”carousel”]
Taxonomy
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Tracheophytes
- Sub-Phylum: Angiosperms
- Class: Eudicots
- Order: Gentianales
- Family: Apocynaceae
- Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
- Tribe: Asclepiadeae
- Sub-Tribe: Asclepiadinae
- Genus: Asclepias
- Species: Asclepias incarnata
Good places to see this flower:
- Damp prairies and along pond edges across North America.
Links
Leave a Reply