Asclepias oenotheroides
Family: Asclepiadaceae
Plant Description: Perennial to 50 cm high with mostly upright stems. Leaves 5-12 cm long, ovate to oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, opposite. Flowers in umbels, the corolla lobes 8-10 mm long, pale green or whitish.
Plant Trivia: Fruit is called a schizocarp because it divides into two parts, each seeming to be a separate fruit.
Field Identification:
Occurrence: Frequent on various soils in prairies, open areas and disturbed places, rather common on island dunes.
Bloom Period: March – November
Plant Use: Host plant to queen butterflies.
Key to the 8 Asclepias species may be found in Plants of the Texas Coastal Bend by Roy L. Lehman, Ruth O’Brien and Tammy White.
stxflora 