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Support the Flora of the Southeastern US

2024 has been a banner year for making the best flora we can imagine. We've created:
With financial support from people like you, we are aiming even higher in 2025. Together we can accomplish all this: Vote on our 2025 priorities
  • Add Global Conservation Ranks (GRanks) vote
  • Professional graphic keys (polyclaves) to individual families/genera vote
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Click the number at the start of a key lead to highlight both that lead and its corresponding lead. Click again to show only the two highlighted leads. Click a third time to return to the full key with the selected leads still highlighted.

Key to Asclepias, Key D: milkweeds with milky sap, with petiolate, nonlinear leaves, in flower

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1 Corolla (not the corona) greenish, either pale green or yellowish green.
  2 Leaves subopposite (to alternate upwards); corolla lobes 7-17 mm long.
    3 Corolla lobes 7-12 mm long; leaves mostly 4-7× as long as wide, acuminate at the apex; [e. OK and e. TX and westwards]
    3 Corolla lobes 13-17 mm long; leaves mostly 2-4× as long as wide, obtuse at the apex; [c. TX and c. OK and eastwards]
  2 Leaves opposite; corolla lobes 6-10 mm long.
      4 Corona 2-3 mm across; corolla lobes pale green, 5-7 mm long; [of various provinces, Coastal Plain and also especially inland]
        5 Corolla lobes reflexed-rotate; corona white to pink, with purple markings; [ne. FL to s. peninsular FL]
        5 Corolla lobes strongly reflexed, appressed to the pedicel; corona green, white, or yellowish, with purple markings; [widespread in our area, but not ne. FL and peninsular FL]
      4 Corona 5-9 mm across; corolla lobes yellowish green, 9-10 mm long; [strictly of the Coastal Plain, of NC and SC, and southward].
          6 Hoods ca. 6 mm long, about 2× as long as the gynostegium; stem and leaves densely tomentulose
          6 Hoods ca. 4 mm long, scarcely exceeding the gynostegium; stem and leaves softly puberulent
1 Corolla (NOT the corona) pink, purple, crimson, orange, or white.
             7 Hoods about as long as the anther heads; horns 1-2× as long as the hood, exserted slightly to well beyond the hood.
               8 Hood opening truncate, the hood therefore beaker-shaped; corolla lobes 8-12 mm long; [primarily of mesic forests of the Mountains]
               8 Hood opening very oblique, the hood therefore scoop-shaped; corolla lobes 2.5-10 mm long; [primarily of wetlands of various provinces].
                 9 Corolla bright orangey red, the lobes 5-10 mm long; corona orangey yellow; gynostegium orangey yellow
                 9 Corolla white, pink, rose, or purple, the lobes 2.5-6 mm long; corona white, pink, or rose; gynostegium white or pale pink.
                   10 Plants 3-5 dm tall; corolla lobes usually white (rarely slightly pink); corona white; leaves glabrous beneath; [of the Coastal Plain of SC]
                   10 Plants 5-15 dm tall; corolla lobes rose to purple (rarely white); corona pink or rose; leaves pubescent to glabrate beneath; [collectively widespread].
                     11 Stems and leaves sparsely pubescent to glabrescent; leaves narrow, the base obtuse to truncate, the apex long-acuminate; plants usually much branched
                     11 Stems and leaves moderately to densely pubescent; leaves broader, the base rounded to subcordate, the apex acute to short-acuminate; plants usually relatively strict
             7 Hoods distinctly longer than the anther heads; horns 0.5-1× as long as the hood, not conspicuously exserted beyond the hood.
                       12 Lower leaf surface pubescent over the surface.
                          13 Hood margin irregular but not with a sharp tooth; umbels terminal and extra-axillary; corolla purplish-rose; leaves with 1-2 stipular colleters on each side of petioles, abaxial surfaces sparsely pilosulous; plants 4-10 dm tall
                          13 Hood margin with a single, ascending, triangular tooth; ; leaves with 1-5 stipular colleters on each side of petioles, abaxial surfaces tomentose to glabrate; corolla rose or greenish-white; plants (5-) 8-20 dm tall
                       12 Lower leaf surface glabrous to sparsely pubescent along the midvein only.
                            14 Hood opening very oblique, the hood therefore scoop-shaped, and also with 2 prominent lateral teeth; corolla pink to greenish (rarely white); plants 2-5 dm tall
                            14 Hood opening truncate and constricted, and lacking prominent teeth; corolla white (often pink at the "waist"); plants 3-12 dm tall