Asclepias pumila

Woodson 1954, Martin and Hutchins 1980, Nabhan et al 2015

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Stems glabrous to glabrate, 10-30 cm tall, minutely puberulent. Leaves: Alternate to appearing whorled and spirally alternate, crowded and rigid, 2-5 cm long, linear-filiform, glabrous to puberulent, the margins revolute. Flowers: Axillary or terminal umbel with short peduncles, small with the calyx lobes about 2 mm long, reflexed at anthesis, the corolla reflexed-rotate and greenish white, the lobes 3-5 mm, oblong, reflexed, the hoods erect, whitish, and shorter than the horns within but broadly oval. Fruits: Narrowly fusiform follicle, 3-8 cm long, finely puberulent on an erect pedicel. Ecology: Found on open plains and grasslands from 4,500-6,000 ft (1372-1829 m), flowers June-September. Distribution: Great Plains species that ranges from northern New Mexico across the plains to Arkansas and north to the Dakotas and Montana. Notes: This is a Great Plains species. Known to be toxic to livestock. Ethnobotany: Infusion of the leaves taken for diarrhea. Etymology: Asclepias is named for the Greek god of healing Asklepios, while pumila means dwarf. Synonyms: Asclepias verticillata var. pumila Editor: SBuckley 2011, 2014, AHazelton 2015