Asclepias cryptoceras

Plant: perennial herb; stems decumbent to prostrate, sparingly branched below, 10-30 cm long Leaves: opposite, subsessile, the petioles 1-6 mm long, the blades circular to broadly elliptic, 2.5-9.5 cm long, 2-7.5 cm broad, rounded to shallowly cordate at the base, obtuse to rounded-apiculate at the apex INFLORESCENCE: UMBELS terminal, pedunculate, frequently also lateral and sessile at the uppermost nodes, 6-7 cm broad, the peduncles 1-8 cm long Flowers: large; calyx lobes 6-9 mm long; corolla yellowish, the lobes 11-13 mm long; hoods purple, attached along the full height of the column, erect, ovoid, truncate to attenuate, in ours 7-7.5 mm long, 3-4 mm broad, about as long as the gynostegium, the horns attached near the middle of the hoods, sickle-shaped and abruptly bent inward or variously reduced to a minute tooth, entirely concealed within the hoods; anther wings 1.9-2.2 mm long; corpusculum 0.3-0.4 mm long, the pollinia 1.2-1.4 mm long Fruit: follicles erect on spreading pedicels, 5.5-7 cm long. REFERENCES: Sundell, Eric. 1994. Asclepiadaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27, 169-187.

Nabhan et al 2015

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: A small perennial species, to 30 cm, with sprawling unbranched stems bearing near the tips one or more umbels. Leaves: The opposite leaves are rounded to oval or rarely spade shaped, smooth and waxy on the surface with a yellow to slightly reddish margin and a very prominent mid-vein. Flowers: The umbel is composed of several large flowers with pale green petals and deep reddish-purple hoods. Fruits: Produces erect pods that are 2 to 3 inches long. Ecology: Found on clay soils in pi-on-juniper communities, from 2,000-8,000 ft (610-2438 m); flowers May to July. Distribution: Found in northern Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, Nevada, and Idaho. Synonyms: None Editor: AHazelton 2015