Asclepias quadrifolia

Asclepias quadrifolia is a species of milkweed commonly called fourleaf milkweed or whorled milkweed. The plant occurs in the eastern United States and Canada.

Asclepias quadrifolia

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Asclepias
Species:
A. quadrifolia
Binomial name
Asclepias quadrifolia
Jacq.

Description

Fourleaf milkweed is a perennial herb from a fleshy rhizome. The plant is small and slender compared to other milkweeds at only 45 cm tall.[1] Leaves usually elliptic to ovate, opposite in arrangement but clustered to form a false whorl, 2.5-12.0 cm long, 1–6 cm wide.[2] Pale pink to white flowers are borne in rounded, usually pendulous clusters from the leaf axils and terminus. The fruit is a follicle or pod which is very slender, 3.2 to 5.6 inches long, 1/4 to 1/3 thick, lacking tubercles, minutely hairy to glabrous; seeds broadly oval, to 1/3 inch long, tufted with white to tan hairs at tips.[3]

Approximately 1 year old remaining pods of fourleaf milkweed

Habitat

Unlike more commonly known species such as common milkweed or butterflyweed, fourleaf milkweed is a woodland denizen. It usually occurs in dry, rocky open forest. It is frequently found on upland slopes.[4]

Ecology

Insects that take nectar from the plant include bumblebees and other bees, wasps, ants, flies, and butterflies. The caterpillars of the monarch butterfly feed on the foliage.

Toxicity

Most Asclepias are toxic if consumed in large quantities due to cardiac glycoside content.[5]

Cultivation

Fourleaf milkweed is rare in cultivation.[6]

References
  1. "Asclepias quadrifolia Jacq". Missouri Flora. Archived from the original on 2015-08-31. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  2. Jim Lovett - jlovett@ku.edu. "Milkweed : Photo Guide : Asclepias quadrifolia (Four-Leaf Milkweed)". Monarch Watch. Archived from the original on 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  3. "Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Fourleaf milkweed". Kswildflower.org. 2007-11-27. Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  4. "AWhorled Milkweed (Fourleaf Milkweed)". Missouri Department of Conservation. Archived from the original on 2014-04-19. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  5. "Asclepias quadrifolia". Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Archived from the original on 2015-11-15. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
  6. "Fourleaf Milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia)". Dave's Garden. Archived from the original on 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
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