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.
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.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Bright white
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed corolla, lobes reflexed
Superior ovary
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 (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p204
- 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