MILKWEED FAMILY (Asclepiadaceae)
GREEN-FLOWERED MILKWEED
Leaves usually opposite or whorled; sepals 5; petals 5, usually reflexed and with a 5-lobed crown; stamens 5, the pollen united into 1 or 2 waxy masses in each sac; carpels 2, free except for the united disk-like stigma.
Green-Flowered Milkweed. Silkweed (Asclepiodora decumbens) is a widespread plant from Arkansas to Utah and Northern Mexico. It is found on the central and western plains, blooming in early spring and sometimes again in the fall. The stout, leafy stems, topped by the ball-shaped heads of flowers form conspicuous clumps about a foot high. The flowers have a sweet nectar which draws many insect visitors. They bloom in April and early May, and the large warty pods mature in a few weeks. As the seeds bear a tuft of hairs at one end, they are easily scattered by the wind and other agents. It is one of the first plants to appear on burned-over areas.
The milkweeds get their name from the bitter milky sap. The flowers are quite different from other flowers in that there is a crown between the petals and the stamens. In many the pollen is borne in two pear-shaped masses with a thread-like connection. In the green-flowered milkweed, purple hoods are attached to the crown and hang over the pollen-sacs.
BUTTERFLY-WEED
Butterfly-Weed. Pleurisy-Root (Asclepias tuberosa) is a well-known plant in dry fields from Maine and Ontario to Northern Mexico. In Texas it is found in the sandy areas of the eastern and central parts. It blooms in the late spring and summer. Other common names include orange milkweed, orange-root, Indian posy, and orange swallow-wort. The leaves are poisonous to stock, but the honey is not considered poisonous. The monarch butterfly is a voracious feeder on the plant. It was at one time valued for its medicinal properties, but is now little used. Several plants are known by the common name of “swallow-wort” and are so called because they bloom in the spring when the swallows appear.
The leafy stems often grow one to two feet high. At the top of the stem are several clusters of small orange-colored flowers. The petals hang down when the pollen is ready to be shed. There is a crown of five erect, orange-colored hoods around the flat stigma.