Spider Milkweed
Antelope Horns
Asclepias asperula
Photographed by Mike Plagens along Sycamore Creek in the Pine Mountain Wilderness, Yavapai Co., Arizona, USA. 07 June 2009.
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FLOWERS: Each stem has one large cluster of striking
green-white-purplish flowers arranged in an umbell at top. Blooming late spring
into summer.
PERENNIAL HERB: Regrows each spring from an underground root, usu.
upright, but sometimes decumbent, and less than 1 m
tall. Several stems grow together from the underground portion.
LEAVES: Dark green leaves are lance shaped. Leaves and stems exude
copious milky sap when broken.
RANGE: Spider Milkweed often grows just up from the main channel, i.e.
out of the flood zone. It is uncommon at the lowest elevations of sycamore
galleries in Arizona. It also occurs in ponderosa and juniper woodlands.
FRUIT: Each fertilized flower (one to several from each cluster) results
in a pair of turgid pods ("horns") point down at maturity and have many,
long-haired seeds inside. Green pods exude milky sap.
UNARMED. No spines or thorns, however the sap is likely toxic.
Asclepiadaceae -- Milkweed Family
More Information:
- Jepson Manual
- Southwest Environmental Information Network
- S. W. Colorado Wildflowers
- USDA Plant Profile
- ITIS Taxonomic Report
- Google Images
- Google Scholar Literature Search