Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asclepias exaltata
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Poke Milkweed at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
See diagrams of milkweed flower structure at Wayne's Word.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias exaltata
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-007:
Asclepias exaltata FAMILY Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Asclepias exaltata
COMMON NAME:
Poke Milkweed, Tall 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_asex_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm230428_2936
April Greenville County SC
Mountain Bridge Wilderness
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JK Marlow jkm230428_2937
April Greenville County SC
Mountain Bridge Wilderness
)
JK Marlow jkm250423_2611
April Greenville County SC
Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm120517_060
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves are thin, broadly elliptic, tapered at both ends, mostly smooth, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm120517_063
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm230523_3347
May Greenville County SC
Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm230523_3349
May Greenville County SC
Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_asclepias_exaltata_20
May
Flowers in loosely-flowered, drooping umbels from upper leaf axils, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_asclepias_exaltata_s2
May
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JK Marlow jkm140607_534
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
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JK Marlow jkm150607_304
June McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm150607_306
June McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm150607_310
June McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm150607_313
June McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves resemble those of Pokeweed, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm060723_081
July Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Stem simple, solitary, 5-10dm tall, glabrous or sparsely puberulent, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm080726_062b
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
SC's only milkweed w smooth, broad, stalked leaves & smooth erect follicles, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
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JK Marlow jkm090709_222
July Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm090709_224
July Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
Corolla lobes reflexed; corona horns arching high, 1.5-2x long as corona hoods, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm140704_562
July Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
The small green sepals alternate with the larger greenish-white petals.
)
JK Marlow jkm200717_6664
July Jackson County NC
Nantahala National Forest
)
Keith Bradley kab_a_exaltata_1723
July Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Ron Lance rwl_asclepias_exaltatum
July Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
Steve Marlow snm071720_7
July Jackson County NC
Nantahala National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm150808_612
August Watauga County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway, Moses Cone Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150808_613
August Watauga County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway, Moses Cone Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150808_615
August Watauga County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway, Moses Cone Park
Caterpillars of the Milkweed Tussock Moth hatch and feed together, per Milkweeds, Monarchs and More (Rea, Oberhauser, & Quinn, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm111008_768
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asclepias exaltata
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias exaltata
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-007:
Asclepias exaltata
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Asclepias exaltata
133
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist forests, slopes, and forest margins, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains, rare in 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
Opposite
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Summer
Greenish-white
(often tinged with rose)
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed corolla, lobes reflexed
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers in loose, few-flowered, drooping umbels from upper leaf axils
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Follicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p109
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p137
- 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) p456
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p068
- 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) p190
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p226
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p128
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".