PA Plantings

puzzle6 Jigsaw Puzzle

Asclepias viridis (Green Milkweed) A small plant with small green flowers whose petals are pressed tight to the central column and with the horns hidden (or not present, I'm not sure which. I have never dissected a flower of this uncommon species). . Found in dry, sunny habitats like Serpentine Barrens. Asclepias verticillata (Whorled milkweed) an inconspicuous plant with whorls of threadlike leaves and tiny white flowers in small umbels. The flowers have spreading hoods and projecting horns. Also found in dry, sunny habitats like Serpentine and Limestone Barrens. Asclepias incarnata (Swamp milkweed) In full bloom right now, this common species lovely pink flowers and it is often seen in damp meadows and roadside ditches. The two-toned pink flowers are not as large as common milkweed but each plants has a lot of flowers. Asclepias exaltata (Poke milkweed) White flowers in loose, drooping umbels with prominent projecting horns. There are relatively few flowers in each...

I like the members of the genus Asclepias (the Milkweeds) very much. They have numerous things going for them from my point of view: Their flowers are beautiful and fascinating, they are the food source for Monarch Butterfly caterpillars and they and many butterflies and other insects find them to be a major source of nectar, many milkweeds are showy in flower and easy to grow, releasing the seeds to the wind is fun, and finally they are distinctive and fairly easy to identify to species! The following are some pictures I have taken here in Pennsylvania and also in West Virginia of seven species of milkweed. I have several more to find someday and several I know locations for I have to get there when they are in bloom. I find the distinctive shapes and sizes of the petals/Hoods (nectar cups) and the Horns, which in many species stick out of the Hoods on the flowers, very intriguing. The first two grow in similar habitats, like old fields and roadsides, often side by sid...