Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Asclepias exaltata
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Poke Milkweed at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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
COMMON NAME:
Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_asex_001_lvd
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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.
)
JK Marlow jkm120517_063
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_asclepias_exaltata_20
May
Flowers in loosely-flowered, drooping umbels from upper leaf axils, per Wildflowers of Tennessee.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_asclepias_exaltata_s2
May
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JK Marlow jkm140607_534
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
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.
)
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.
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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.
)
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.
)
JK Marlow jkm140704_562
July Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
The small green sepals alternate with the larger greenish-white petals.
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JK Marlow jkm200717_6664
July Jackson County NC
Nantahala National Forest
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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
)
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 by Rea, Oberhauser, and Quinn.
)
JK Marlow jkm111008_768
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
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
133
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Common
Look for it in moist forests, slopes, & forest margins, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
...Moist
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Summer
Greenish-white
(often tinged with rose)
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed corolla, lobes reflexed
Superior ovary
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 p109
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p137
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p264
- Southern Appalachian Wildflowers p014
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p456
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p068
- Wildflowers in the Field and Forest p330
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p190
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p226
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p128