Quick ReferenceGuide to some milkweeds in Texas QRG Page 3
Above: Asclepias perennis (shore milkweed). Fort Bend County, Texas, April 2001
Above: Asclepias texana (Texas milkweed). Bexar County, Texas, July 2001.
We thank Barbara Wilson (Challenger Center, BBSP) for showing us the perennis plants, Mary
Kennedy (TMI, SA) for leading us to the texana plants, and Derek Mustachelek (DeWitt Co.
Naturalist) for taking us to the stand of verticillata.
verticillata pg 3b
Above: Asclepias verticillata (whorled milkweed). DeWitt County, Texas
These milkweeds have smaller, more delicate flowers but
prominent horns that extend from the hoods and rise
inward over the central column. Another, that exists in
inland parts of Texas, is the Asclepias incarnata
(swamp milkweed) which has light pink to deep rose
flowers. Another, native to Texas, is the Asclepias
speciosa (showy milkweed) has pinkish flowers where
the hoods, extending away from the central column, are a
prominent feature. We have never been able to locate
and photograph either incarnata or speciosa growing
wild in Texas and would appreciate information on the
location of either that are growing native to the area or the
loan of photos with closeups of the leaves and flowers.
We have seen monarch larvae in the spring on perennis and in the fall on linearis. We hear that
incarnata and speciosa serve as host plants to many monarchs each year.
May be reproduced and used for educational purposes. Data: Monarch Watch Milkweed Guide
Quick Reference Guide: page 1 asperula, viridis page 2 latifolia, linearis, oenotheroides
page 4 tuberosa, curassavica page 5 obovata, viridiflora
