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Picture

Dwarf Milkweed, Asclepias involucrate, Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae)

5/19/2023

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Picture
Found in sandy washes and canyons
Seen blooming in May on Espinosa Trail, Santa Fe NF

Unlike the more familiar Showy Milkweed which grows 3 feet tall, Dwarf Milkweed grows sprawling on the ground up to 10 inches. Leaves are long and folded with woolly edges. Milkweed flowers are both beautiful and structurally complex. Dwarf Milkweed flowers are yellowish-white and produce fat, erect seed pods 1½ to 2½ inches long which split open to allow the large brown seeds with silky plumes to escape. Milkweeds contain various amounts of poisonous glycosides and in some species these compounds are potent enough to cause the death of cattle and horses if consumed in large quantities. Such events are rare. Most grazing animals learn to avoid milkweeds due to the bitterness and toxicity of the leaves and pods. The Monarch butterfly larvae eat only milkweed and retain this poison without harm, so they become distasteful to potential predators who soon learn to avoid these species after attempting to eat them. Nevertheless, Native Americans traditionally used an infusion of the plant as a stomach medicine; a poultice of heated roots was applied for toothaches and a dry powdered root was mixed with saliva and used for unspecified illness. Source.

If you are trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flowers bloom this month. If you cannot identify a flower from the website, send a photo and where you took it to [email protected]. Read online for tips.   
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    Picture
    By Wildflowers of the Southern Rocky Mountains

    Author

    I am Marilyn Phillips, a native of England, whose love of nature and the outdoors from childhood brought me by a circuitous route to Crested Butte, Colorado in 1993 and 16 years later to northern New Mexico. My exploration of the many trails in these areas, my interest in wildflowers and photography, and career in computer system design came together in this creation. If you have any corrections, comments or questions, please contact me by email.

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