Asclepias viridiflora

Asclepias viridiflora, common names green milkweed, green comet milkweed, and green-flower milkweed is a widely distributed species of milkweed known from much of the eastern and central United States from Connecticut to Georgia to Arizona to Montana, as well as southern Canada.

Green milkweed
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Asclepias
Species:
A. viridiflora
Binomial name
Asclepias viridiflora
Synonyms[1]
  • Acerates ivesii (Britton) Wooton & Standl.
  • Acerates lanceolata Steud.
  • Acerates viridiflora (Raf.) Eaton
  • Acerates viridiflora var. ivesii Britton
  • Acerates viridiflora var. lanceolata (E.Ives) A.Gray
  • Asclepias ivesii (Britton) Wooton & Standl.
  • Asclepias lanceolata Ives
  • Asclepias viridiflora var. lanceolata (E.Ives) Torr.
  • Asclepias viridiflora var. linearis (A.Gray) Fernald
  • Asclepias viridiflora var. pubescentitomentosa Hook.
  • Gomphocarpus viridiflorus (Raf.) Spreng.
  • Otanema ovata Raf.
  • Polyotus heterophyllus Nutt.

Asclepias viridiflora is an erect to ascending herb up to 50 cm tall, with distinctive greenish-white flowers. The pods lack the warts and tubercules common on other species of Asclepias.[2][3][4]

Conservation status

It is listed as endangered in Florida, as threatened in New York (state), and as endangered in Connecticut.[5][6]

Native American Ethnobotany

The Blackfoot apply a poultice of chewed roots to swellings, to "diarrhea rash", to rashes, to the sore gums of nursing infants[7] and to sore eyes.[8] They also chew the root for sore throats,[9] and use the plant to spice soups, and use the fresh roots for food.[10] The Brulé Lakota give pulverized roots to children with diarrhea, and an infusion of the whole plant is taken by mothers to increase their milk.[11]

References
  1. "Asclepias viridiflora". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List.
  2. Sundell, E. 1993. Asclepiadaceae, Milkweed Family. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 27:169-187.
  3. "Asclepias viridiflora". Native Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin.
  4. Rafinesque. C.S. Medical Repository, ser. 2, 5: 360. 1808.
  5. "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 31 December 2017.(Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)
  6. "Asclepias viridiflora". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  7. Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 75
  8. Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 80
  9. Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 71
  10. Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 101
  11. Rogers, Dilwyn J, 1980, Lakota Names and Traditional Uses of Native Plants by Sicangu (Brule) People in the Rosebud Area, South Dakota, St. Francis, SD. Rosebud Educational Scoiety, page 34
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