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WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asclepias exaltata   FAMILY Apocynaceae   Go to FSUS key



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.

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_asex_001_lvd

        

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm230428_2936

April    Greenville County    SC

Mountain Bridge Wilderness

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm230428_2937

April    Greenville County    SC

Mountain Bridge Wilderness

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

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).

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm120517_063

May    Yancey County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm230523_3347

May    Greenville County    SC

Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm230523_3349

May    Greenville County    SC

Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

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).

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_asclepias_exaltata_s2

May        

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm140607_534

June    Jackson County    NC

Whiteside Mountain

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm150607_304

June    McDowell County?    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm150607_306

June    McDowell County?    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm150607_310

June    McDowell County?    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

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).

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

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).

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

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).

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm090709_222

July    Haywood County    NC

Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

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).

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm140704_562

July    Jackson County    NC

Whiteside Mountain

The small green sepals alternate with the larger greenish-white petals.

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm200717_6664

July    Jackson County    NC

Nantahala National Forest

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

Keith Bradley    kab_a_exaltata_1723

July    Haywood County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

Ron Lance    rwl_asclepias_exaltatum

July    Jackson County    NC

Big Ridge Preserve

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

Steve Marlow    snm071720_7

July    Jackson County    NC

Nantahala National Forest

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm150808_612

August    Watauga County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway, Moses Cone Park

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

JK Marlow    jkm150808_613

August    Watauga County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway, Moses Cone Park

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

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).

image of Asclepias exaltata, Poke Milkweed, Tall Milkweed

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

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

map
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!



 


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