Asclepias exaltata Linnaeus. Common name: Tall Milkweed, Poke Milkweed. Phenology: May-Aug; May-Oct. Habitat: Moist forests, slopes, and forest margins. Distribution: ME and s. ON west to MN and IA, south to n. GA, n. AL (Schotz 2009). e. and c. TN (Chester, Wofford, & Kral 1997), KY, and IL.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Synonymy ⓘ: = C, Can, F, FNA14, G, Il, K4, Mi, NE, NY, Pa, RAB, S, Tn, Va, W, Woodson (1954); = Asclepias phytolaccoides Pursh — Tat. Basionym: Asclepias exaltata L. 1756
Links to other floras: = Asclepias exaltata - FNA14
Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)
Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: UPL
- Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACU
- Great Plains: FAC
- Midwest: UPL
- Northcentral & Northeast: UPL
Heliophily ⓘ: 4
Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.
© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
© Erik Danielson source | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
© Edwin Bridges | Original Image ⭷
© Edwin Bridges | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷Feedback
See something wrong or missing on about Asclepias exaltata? Let us know here: (Please include your name and email if at all complicated so we can clarify if needed.) We greatly appreciate feedback, and will include updates from you in our next webapp update, which can take a few months. If a species is not keyed, that's because keying is ongoing. Please don't send us feedback about unkeyed species.
Horticultural Information
Intro: Erect perennial of moist forests, forest margins and roadsides.
Stems: Stem light-green to purplish-green, unbranched, mostly smooth; leaks milky sap when bruised.
Leaves: Leaves opposite, petiolate, broadly oval to lance-oval, 3-8 in. long, thin-textured and smooth (midrib beneath may be hairy).
Inforescence:
Flowers: Flowers on long, drooping stalks in terminal umbel and several upper axillary umbels; green and pink, ¼ in. wide and ½ in. long, consisting of 5 strongly reflexed green or pale purple corolla lobes and a central crown--composed of 5 2-parted appendages ("hood" and "horn")--which surrounds a complex structure of fused anthers and style.
Fruits: Fruit an erect, spindle-shaped follicle containing tufted seeds.
Comments: The nectar of the flowers attracts many butterflies, and the plant hosts Monarch larvae.
Height: 2-6 ft.
plant sale text: Poke milkweed has terminal umbels of white flowers, sometimes tinged with a lavender or greenish tint. The flowers are produced in such profusion that overall this plant is quite showy when in bloom. The flowers of this southeastern native species are arranged in large, drooping umbels. The nectar of the flowers attracts many butterflies. This species is also a host plant for the larvae of the Monarch butterfly and the genus supports up to 12 lepidoptera species. Poke milkweed grows at the edges of woods and along roadsides.
bloom table text:
description: Erect perennial of moist forests, forest margins and roadsides.
stems: Stem light-green to purplish-green, unbranched, mostly smooth; leaks milky sap when bruised.
leaves: Leaves opposite, petiolate, broadly oval to lance-oval, 3-8 in. long, thin-textured and smooth (midrib beneath may be hairy).
inflorescence:
flowers: Flowers on long, drooping stalks in terminal umbel and several upper axillary umbels; green and pink, ¼ in. wide and ½ in. long, consisting of 5 strongly reflexed green or pale purple corolla lobes and a central crown--composed of 5 2-parted appendages ("hood" and "horn")--which surrounds a complex structure of fused anthers and style.
fruits: Fruit an erect, spindle-shaped follicle containing tufted seeds.
comments: The nectar of the flowers attracts many butterflies, and the plant hosts Monarch larvae.
cultural notes:
germination code:
native range: eastern North America
0 unsaved edits on this page.