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Asclepias albicans

(Wax Milkweed, White-Stem Milkweed, Whitestem Milkweed)

Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Wax Milkweed, White-Stem Milkweed, Whitestem Milkweed

Description

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Family Asclepiadaceae

Herbs, shrubs , or rarely treelike, with milky or, less often, clear latex. Leaves simple , opposite or occasionally whorled , very rarely alternate, usually without obvious stipules, margin nearly always entire . Inflorescences terminal , axillary , or extra-axillary , cymose , often condensed and umbel-like, occasionally a racemelike bostrychium. Flowers bisexual , 5-merous, actinomorphic . Sepals joined at base only, often with 5 or more basal glands in the sinuses. Corolla sympetalous , reflexed to urceolate or salverform ; lobes valvate or overlapping in bud to right or left. Corona usually present, inserted on corolla, stamens, or both. Stamens 5, usually inserted at base of corolla tube and adhering to stigma head to form gynostegium; filaments usually connate to form a tube enclosing ovaries; anthers 4-celled (Periplocoideae and Secamonoideae) or 2-celled (Asclepiadoideae), often with a membranous apical appendage ; pollen tetrads contained loosely on a spatulate translator with a basal corpusculum (Periplocoideae), or pollen united into waxy pollinia, each attached through a caudicle (stalk ) to the retinaculum (gland ) between adjacent anthers to form a pollinarium , pollinia 2 (Asclepiadoideae) or 4 (Secamonoideae) per pollinarium. Ovaries 2, free , superior; ovules numerous . Styles connate; stigma head fleshy. Fruit of 1 or 2 follicles. Seeds numerous, strongly compressed , with a coma (a prominent basal tuft of silky hairs ) . Chromosome number x = (8-) 11 (or 12) .

Some 250 genera and over 2000 species: widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in Africa and southern South America, with a moderate representation in northern and southeastern Asia; 44 genera (four endemic) and 270 species (153 endemic) in China.

Some authorities include this family in the Apocynaceae. Genera 1-6 are sometimes placed in a separate family, the Periplocaceae, here regarded as a subfamily , Periplocoideae. Genera 7-10 belong to the Secamonoideae and the remaining genera to the Asclepiadoideae. Many Chinese taxa are known only from dried material , sometimes not well preserved, and it is likely that the study of living or spirit-preserved material could lead to a reassessment of the taxonomy of some of these endemic taxa.

All plant parts, especially the seeds and latex, are often poisonous. They contain various alkaloids and glycosides, many of which are used in medicine and as insecticides . A few succulent species (e.g. , Stapelia gigantia N. E. Brown, Orbea pulchella (Masson) L. C. Leach, and O. variegata (Linnaeus) Haworth are grown by specialist collectors in China.Bingtao Li, Michael G. Gilbert & W. Douglas Stevens "Asclepiadaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 189. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Genus Asclepias

Herbs, base frequently woody. Leaves opposite or whorled , short petiolate . Cymes terminal and extra-axillary , erect , umbel-like, many flowered. Calyx glands 5-10. Corolla rotate, deeply parted ; lobes reflexed , valvate or rarely overlapping to right . Corona lobes 5, inserted on gynostegium, erect, apex hooded , with an incurved , ligular-hornlike adaxial appendage . Stamens inserted at base of corolla tube ; filaments connate into a tube; anther appendages incurved; pollinia 2 per pollinarium , pendulous. Stigma head conical . Follicles fusiform , apex acuminate. Seeds flat, with a long coma.

About 120 species: America, some naturalized in Old World; one species in China."Asclepias". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 203. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Physical Description

Habit: Subshrub , Shrub

Flowers: Bloom Period: March, April, May. • Flower Color: near white, white

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 36-48" tall.

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,684 meters (0 to 5,525 feet).Mean = 356.100 meters (1,168.307 feet), Standard Deviation = 524.250 based on 81 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 18-24" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Asclepias albicans S. Wats.
  2. Asclepias albicans S. Watson, 1889

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Asclepias

There are approximately 640 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

A. 'Alessa' · A. 'Beatrix' · A. 'Beauty' · A. 'Cinderella' · A. 'Kiki' · A. 'Red Wijna' · A. 'Soulmate' · A. abyssinica · A. acanthocarpus · A. acerateoides · A. acida · A. acornuta · A. acuminata · A. adscendens · A. aequicornu · A. affinis · A. ageratoides · A. alba · A. albens · A. albicans (Wax Milkweed) · A. albida · A. albiflora · A. albo-aurantiaca · A. alexicaca · A. alexifarmacas · A. alexitoxica · A. alpina · A. alticola · A. altissima · A. amabilis · A. ameliae · A. amoena · A. amplexicaulis (Blunt-Leaf Milkweed) · A. amsonioides · A. angulosa · A. angustata · A. angustifolia (Arizona Milkweed) · A. angustissima · A. anisophylla · A. annularia · A. annularis · A. aphylla · A. apocinum · A. apocynifolia · A. appendiculata · A. arborea · A. arborescens · A. arenaria (Sand Milkweed) · A. arenicola · A. argentata · A. armata · A. arvensis · A. asperula (Antelope Horns) · A. asperula asperula · A. asperula capricornu (Antelope Horns) · A. asperula subsp. capricornu · A. asthmatica · A. atroviolacea · A. aurantiaca · A. aurea · A. axillaris · A. axilliaris · A. bagshawei · A. barbata · A. barjoniifolia · A. bartlettiana · A. baumii · A. bicolor · A. bicuspis · A. bidentata · A. bifida · A. blanchetii · A. boliviensis · A. bracteolata · A. brasiliensis · A. brevicuspis · A. brevipes (Asclepias) · A. bridgesii · A. browniana · A. buchenaviana · A. buchwaldii · A. burchellii · A. cabrae · A. calceolus · A. californica (California Milkweed) · A. californica greenei (Bract Milkweed) · A. californica subsp. greenei · A. californica var. callifolia (California Milkweed) · A. campestris · A. campestris var. angustifolia · A. campestris var. flava · A. campestris var. heterophylla · A. campestris var. schlechteri · A. cancellata (Asclepias) · A. candida · A. canescens · A. canina · A. cannabinum · A. capricornu subsp. capricornu · A. chapalensis

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 02, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2008-09-26