Map Snapshot
38 Records
Status
Redring Milkweed is a rare milkweed of wooded habitats with records across most of Maryland. Redring Milkweed likes partial shade and can be found growing in open rich woods and forested edges. Unfortunately, this species appears to be in decline and has become rare across the state. The Maryland Biodiversity Project only has two localities (Dorchester, Allegany) for this beautiful milkweed since the turn of the new century. The species may be fire dependent. The locality in Dorchester County lacked any recent Redring Milkweed records until the state burned the property and the milkweed miraculously appeared the next season.
Description
Redring Milkweed has foliage similar to Common Milkweed. The leaves are petiolate and the flower clusters are pure white. Groups of flowers have been described as snowballs growing in the woods. The lower portion of the flower is encircled in red thus giving this milkweed its common name. The seeds pods of Redring Milkwing stand erect often near the top of the stem.
Relationships
White-tailed Deer browse may also be an issue with Redring Milkweed. Even though most wildlife do not forage on milkweed, we have observed Redring Milkweed plants at the Dorchester County location that have been obviously deer browsed. One season most of the population was eaten (munched halfway down the stem), resulting in no plants going to seed.
Seasonality Snapshot
Source: Wikipedia
| Asclepias variegata | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Apocynaceae |
| Genus: | Asclepias |
| Species: | A. variegata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Asclepias variegata | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Biventraria variegata (L.) Small | |
Asclepias variegata, commonly called the redring milkweed[1] or white milkweed,[2] is a plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is native to eastern North America, where it is found in Canada and the United States.[3] It is most common in the Southeastern United States, and becomes rare in the northern edge of its range.
Its natural habitat is forest openings and savannas, often in sandy soils.[4]
It produces small white flowers with purplish centers that area crowded into round, terminal clusters.[5] It flowers in early summer.[2]
Conservation status in the United States
[edit]It is endangered in the states of New York, and Pennsylvania.[6] It is listed as a special concern species and believed extirpated in Connecticut.[7]
References
[edit]
- ^ NRCS. "Asclepias variegata". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ a b Alan Weakley. "Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States".
- ^ "Asclepias variegata". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ Yatskievych, George (2006). Flora of Missouri, Volume 2. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. pp. 156–157.
- ^ "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". wildflower.org. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ "Plants Profile for Asclepias variegata (Redring milkweed)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ "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.)
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