Marsh Milkweed
| Marsh Milkweed | ||||||||||||
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Marsh milkweed, a monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ) on the inflorescence |
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| Asclepias incarnata | ||||||||||||
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The marsh milkweed ( Asclepias incarnata ) is a species of the dog venom family (Apocynaceae). She comes from North America .
description
The marsh milkweed is an upright, perennial , herbaceous plant that reaches heights of 30 to 150 cm. The whole plant has a white milky sap . The opposite leaves are about 10 cm long, narrowly lanceolate and tapering to a point.
The marsh milkweed flowers from June to September and produces small, fragrant, pink to lilac (sometimes white) flowers in round, golden inflorescences . The hermaphrodite flowers are radially symmetrical and five-fold. The five greenish sepals point downwards. The five curved petals are 3 to 4 mm long. The five stamens each have a bag-shaped appendage, these form the secondary crown. A crescent protrudes from each segment of the secondary crown, these are longer than the secondary crown. There are two upper carpels .
The upright follicles have a smooth surface. The light to dark brown, flat seeds have silver-white flying hairs that allow them to be transported by the wind.
ecology
The marsh milkweed grows in damp or wet soils and is also grown as an ornamental plant in the garden because of its attractive flowers , which are visited by butterflies or other pollinators for the abundant nectar . Like most other silk plant species ( Asclepias ), their sap contains poisonous components that keep pests and herbivores away.
Occurrence
The swamp milkweed is widespread in North America east of the Rocky Mountains . It prefers moist to swampy soils in full sun to partial shade and is typically found in nature on the edge of ponds, lakes, streams and valleys and moats. It has adapted to heavy, wet soils that are poor in oxygen.
Systematics
One can distinguish between two subspecies:
- Asclepias incarnata subsp. incarnata : It occurs in central and eastern Canada and in the west-central and eastern United States.
- Asclepias incarnata subsp. pulchra (Ehrh. ex Willd.) Woodson : It occurs from Nova Scotia to the south-central and eastern United States.
use
The swamp milkweed is used in many cultivated forms as an ornamental plant. They are especially grown in gardens to attract butterflies. The nectar attracts many species of butterflies and also insects. They are sold as fresh cut flowers mainly because of their long-lasting flowers, but sometimes also because of their unusual follicles.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Eckehart J. Jäger, Friedrich Ebel, Peter Hanelt, Gerd K. Müller (eds.): Exkursionsflora von Deutschland . tape 5 . Herbaceous ornamental and useful plants. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-8274-0918-8 , pp. 190 .
- ↑ a b c Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) ( Memento from December 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Foster, Steven; Caras, Roger A .: A field guide to venomous animals and poisonous plants, North America, north of Mexico . Houghton Mifflin, Boston 1994, ISBN 9780395936085 , p. 122.
- ↑ Plants Profile for Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) . In: Natural Resources Conservation Service . USDA .. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
- ↑ a b Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Asclepias. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved January 3, 2020.