Asclepias exaltata L.

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Apocynaceae

• Scientific Name

  Asclepias exaltata L.

• Description

  Species Description - Stems 8–15 dm, glabrous or puberulent in narrow lines; lvs thin, broadly elliptic, 1–2 dm, acuminate at both ends, glabrous, or puberulent beneath; petioles 1–2 cm; umbels loosely few-fld, the slender pedicels spreading or often drooping; cor white to pale dull purple, the lobes 7–10 mm; hoods white or pink, 4 mm, about equaling the gynostegium, the lateral margins adjacent, each terminating in an erect tooth 1–1.5 mm, the rest of the hood truncate; horns subulate, suberect, conspicuously exsert; fr erect on deflexed pedicels, puberulent, 12–15 cm. Moist upland woods; s. Me. to Va. and in the mts. to Ga., w. to Minn., e. Io., Ill., and Tenn. June, July. (A. phytolaccoides)

• Common Names

  tall milkweed