#asclepias viridiflora

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

My Garden Flowers Part 5

All photos mine. The blue flax is edited for colour since the camera didn't catch it and washed it out. The curlytop smartweed is edited for contrast and the scarlet bee balm is edited for colour since that phone camera sucked.

In order of appearance:

121. Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) Flowering for the first time this year! I hope she gets pollinated.

122. Blue Flax (Linum lewisii) Finally got this thing to flower. She doesn't live very long and my first two attempts grew just fine but didn't flower and therefore didn't reseed. Here's hoping this one does.

123. Lakeside Daisy (Tetraneuris herbacea) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

124. Fringed Sagebrush (Artemisia frigida) Took me several tries, including the wrong species sent, before I got one to take off but she survived the winter and is doing nicely this summer!

125. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) Sadly she didn't make it through the winter and I'll have to try another area, but she certainly looked nice while she was here.

126. Gray-Headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) Flowering for the first time this year! Also my first successful attempt as BOTH my previous plants were cut where I had them. Two in a fucking row. She doesn't even look that weedy. I don't know what the fuck.

127. Narrow-Leaved Vervain (Verbena simplex) Sadly she didn't survive the winter. Trying her in another place and she seems to like it so far.

128. Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa) Well, she certainly understood the assignment to prettify that area, though I had no idea she'd spread so much. My other Oenothera species are much more well-behaved. lol

129. Streamside Fleabane (Erigeron glabellus pubescens) Lovely little thing in the small spot I have her in. An ideal small space plant.

130. Green Comet (Asclepias viridiflora) Now she flowered last year but didn't make pods in spite of all the ants who came to visit. Hoping she'll make pods this year!

131. Spike Goldenrod (Solidago simplex) She looked nice here but didn't survive the winter. I'm trying one in another spot.

132. Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) Not pictured as I haven't got any pictures yet.

133. Blue Leadplant (Amorpha canescens) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

134. Clammy Groundcherry (Physalis heterophylla) She also spread much more than I expected, but I don't mind. Potentially lots of ground cherries!

135. White Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba) A bit leggy as a bush, though that might be due to where I have her, but the flowers are yet again white and lacy and loved by pollinators.

136. Curlytop Smartweed (Persicaria lapathifolia) I didn't plant that, and wish I had gotten a better photo of her because she sadly never reseeded until this year, and her daughter is not quite as impressive as she was.

137. Slender Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium) She is no longer with us as of this year and I'm not sure why. I've planted fireweed in that spot now and we'll see how she does. Maybe I'll plant slender mountain mint in the back instead.

138. Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

139 Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense) Every year I end up with more! Springtime flower only and then she fruits.

140. Canada Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) one of the relatively safe members of the buttercup family. You can pop a flower or two into your mouth for a refreshing sweet snack.

141. Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum) Probably the most showy of her genus. Avens flowers tend to be small white or yellow on leggy stalks, but prairie smoke has red parts around white flowers that eventually become fluffy seedheads, hence the name. Plus the leaves turn red in the fall so very nice all around.

142. Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) She can get leggy in the summer, but the bright yellow flowerheads are nice in spring.

143. Canada Wild Rye (Elymus canadensis) She didn't make the winter. Again I think it was too dry. She may have reseeded, however, or else I've let a clump of crabgrass stay for far too long.

144. Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea) She's another one I had to get from a Manitoba company because no one in Ontario was selling this species (some do now though). She is thriving!

145. Wild Mint (Mentha arvensis) The area I have her in is fairly dry and blocked by sidewalk. She does occasionally get in the cracks but is otherwise well-behaved in her enclosure. The same cannot be said for the one I gave to my friend for her landlady's plant war. Apparently she's taken over the neighbourhood. Well done, native mint.

146. Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) She lived well for one year in that area and then never again. I'm trying her in a different spot where she hasn't flowered yet but seems to like it.

147. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) That's a cultivar. I did eventually manage to get the wild type, but don't have a picture yet.

148. Canada Garlic (Allium canadense) In my humble opinion these are much tastier than ramps. They usually don't make flowers, opting to make bulbs instead, but this was a nice exception. They're springtime only, though.

149. Annual Fleabane (Erigeron annuus) I rescued her from a fallow area. Sadly she didn't reseed but I don't feel bad because that area is completely under development now and her offspring wouldn't have made it anyway. I gave her a chance.

150. Northern Bedstraw (Galium boreale) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

Swan plants is a lovely name for them. What species do you have in New Zealand? In my area of Canada/USA, we have about 16. I’m collecting as many different species as I can and planting them in different parts of the garden. It’s a natural protection against pests and diseases, since they can’t just jump from, say, the swamp milkweed to the green comet milkweed. Haven’t had any monarchs lay eggs on them yet, but I’m looking forward to it. The bees, wasps, flies, etc. sure love them, though. And the flower clusters can be boiled down into syrup--necessary once they take off; my swamp milkweed, which I’ve had the longest of my milkweeds, is getting out of control with its spreading. But thankfully the young shoots are edible after cooking, so I’ll do something with those growing in areas I don’t want them in when they coming up.

if you have swan plants/milkweeds that grow like weeds in your garden, (after any caterpillars have left as butterflies), carefully dig out from the roots and give to neighbours or local markets! swan plants are in major shortage in many countries, getting them from stores is often expensive, and there's actually a massive problem of stores and plant nurseries protecting the plants with pesticides and fungicides that actually kill the caterpillars who eat the plant. so, garden plants are really good with avoiding that (as long as they're orange aphid free). i'm very grateful to the random lady who's just letting me cut and dig swan plants in her garden.

monarchs are at risk of ending up threatened, and in fact, the migratory monarch of the americas was classified as endangered in august last year. so, always good to have swan plants in your gardens. perhaps only a few though, because monarchs will always lay too many eggs per plant and there is always a large caterpillar die off once things run out, and it's easier to save and hand rear some caterpillars once the garden stock is eaten if there's just a handful. i can do this because there was only 4-5 caterpillars remaining on our plants. it's part of nature and carrying capacity, but it's still sad so i try to avoid it haha.

[syngoniums]

Green comet milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) and American bumblebees (Bombus pensylvanicus).

[whatsbloomingnow]

Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora Raf.)

Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed Family) Synonym(s): Green-flowered Milkweed, Green Milkweed, Wand Milkweed, Green Comet Milkweed Base Flower Color: GreenReproductive Phenology: Jun, Jul, Aug For more information about this plant, Click Here.

[cedar-glade]

One of 4 milkweeds present at the Teeple barrens. 

Asclepias viridiflora

Short, lanceleaved, green rocket milkweed. 

[stopandlook]

Scientific Name: Asclepias viridiflora Common Name(s): Green comet milkweed Family: Apocynaceae (dogbane); prev. Asclepiadaceae (milkweed) Life Cycle: Perennial Leaf Retention: Deciduous Habit: Forb USDA L48 Native Status: Native Location: Plano, Texas Season(s): Late summer

[dendroica]

Green Comet Milkweed Close-up (via USFWS Mountain-Prairie)

A native milkweed on Mundt Lake Waterfowl Production Area in the Kulm Wetland Management District of North Dakota. This unique milkweed has flowers that do not open like other milkweeds. Photo Credit: Krista Lundgren/USFWS

[debunkshy]

Short Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) and Brown-belted Bumblebee (Bombus griseocollis)

Rettenmund Prairie, WI, 6-22-17

[mishapeep]

AAAAaaaaaaaaaaah!! A friend is challenging us to find flowers that look like fireworks (let’s be serious, it’s the other way around). Asclepias, or milkweed, is one of my all time absolute favorite genera. “Why????” you may ask? WELL LET ME TELL YOU.

First of all, look at these magnificent beasts! LOOK AT THEM!! Their flowers are almost always showy and pompomy and either delicately colored or flamboyantly in your face. Their flower structure is so unique! Only the FEET of pollinators can crack those petals (which is sad news for Asclepias, really) to get some pollen for distribution. Bumble bees are especially good at it. They are EXCLUSIVELY the host plant for monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). Most of them have latex milky sap. Most of them contain mild toxins! Their seed pods are big biffy things filled with flat seeds arrayed like scales! When they burst open they get all poofy and disperse in the wind (or by Misha as she turns 1 pod into handfuls of fluff with glee). Their leaves can be alternate, opposite, OR whorled (Asclepias laughs at your taxonomic indexing rules). They usually smell amazing. Like.. holy hell how does something smell this good amazing!

Every species here is native to the Great Lakes region. This isn’t comprehensive. There are some I didn’t manage to get photos of.... yet. Pictured, in order: 1) A. incarnata - swamp milkweed 2) A. hirtella - tall green milkweed 3) A. syriaca - common milkweed 4) A. tuberosa - butterfly milkweed 5) A. viridiflora - green milkweed 6) A. virticillata - whorled milkweed 7) A. amplexicaulis - clasping milkweed (Bonus story: There was a boy who was once DEAD SET on getting me flowers. He kept asking me which was my favorite. I told him milkweed was my favorite. He went to many many florists before one clued him in that he’d have to wait until July and find a likely ditch to get it. I really wasn’t interested in dating him. I was honest. He was persistent. No regrets.)

[traviswardhorticulture]

#Asclepias #viridiflora #GreenCometMilkweed #ButterflyWeed #Milkweed #TexasNative #TexasNativePlants #NoFilter #ThrockmortonCoTX (at Throckmorton County, Texas)

[gamosepalous-5lobed]

Just to clarify, the leaf morphology of Asclepias viridiflora, or short green milkweed, is fairly variable. The last photo of this plant posted showed elongated peduncle before umbel appearing from a node below the lanceolate foliage where this plant’s foliage is more rounded off, resembling that of A. syriaca in shape, and with the umbel cluster appearing more sessile to the stem. 

I felt a need to clarify this just in case someone needs to make an I.D. and your key describes one or the other.

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

So most of the plants that began showing signs of life in April last year are doing so now, but I am still waiting on:

Adiantum pedatum (maidenhair fern) Aruncus dioicus (bride's feathers) Asclepias viridiflora (green comet milkweed) Cardamine concenata (cutleaf toothwort) Cardamine maxima (large toothwort) Claytonia virginica (fairyspuds) Clinopodium vulgare (wild basil) Comptonia peregrina (sweetfern) Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower) Epilobium cilliatum (fringed willhowherb) Galium boreale (northern bedstraw) Hypericum punctatum (spotted St. John's wort) Lathyrus ochroleucus (cream pea vine) Mertensia paniculata (tall bluebells) Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot) Pycnanthemum tenufolium (slender mountain mint) Ratibida pinnata (greyheaded coneflower) Solidago nemoralis (grey goldenrod) Symphyotrichum ericoides (white heath aster) Trillium cuneatum (little sweet Betsy) Viola blanda (sweet white violet) Viola canadensis (Canada violet)

And we'll see if any more of the new ones show themselves this month. I suppose I should also track whether it's early in the month, the middle of the month or late in the month.

[syngoniums]

Green comet milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora).

[cedar-glade]

Asclepias viridiflora blunt leaf form 

Tall green rocket has many different leaf morphologies in it’s range which is usually limited to barren like conditions. At Lake Hiwassee these tend to display more of a stout lowlying appearence and all seem to display the blunt non-lanceolate leaves. Another species, and look-a-like to this one is found in similar habitat and is usually much taller, has red spotted carolla with more umbell clusters on average. This look a like always has either widened liniar leaves or lanceolate leaves like a first year Asclepias incarnata at it’s widest; this species is Asclepias hirtella and while these morphological differenses might come off as confusing, A. hirtella has the rare milkweed distinction of alternate leaves that face up right midseason( pointing up with margins invaginated(folded tword the midvein maintaining an entire non undulate profile), where as most milk weeds remain opposite. (A. tuberosa and A verticillata are unique as well.)

[cedar-glade]

Teeple barrens Indiana

Asclepias veridiflora (lanceolate form.)

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

Green comet milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) has edible flower buds, flowers, young shoots, older shoot tips, young seed pods, sprouted seeds, and oil.

More info on Plants for a Future.

Special note: monarch butterflies do feed on these and other milkweed species. If you find them in the wild pick sparingly, and if you grow them be sure to avoid pesticides.