North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Asclepias exaltata

Asclepias exaltata L.

poke milkweed, tall milkweed

Synonym(s): Asclepias bicknellii, Asclepias phytolaccoides

Image ID: 8751
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: ASEX
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Asclepias exaltata
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-09-16

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: ASCLE
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Asclepias
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Milkweed
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 100 species, herbs, temperate and tropical, of North and Central America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Woodson (1954)=Z; Turner (2009b)=Y; Farmer & Bell (1985)=X.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: APOCYN
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Apocynaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Dogbane Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: As here circumscribed including the Asclepiadaceae, a family of about 480 genera and about 4800 species, lianas, shrubs, herbs, and trees, widespread in tropical and temperate areas. There appears to be overwhelming evidence favoring the combination of the Asclepiadaceae into the Apocynaceae; see, for instance, Rosatti (1989), Sennblad & Bremer (1996), and many others.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Rosatti (1989); Liede (1997a).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

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).
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.
HEIGHT: 2-6 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Opposite
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Radial (Actinomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: June-July

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
				x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Green and pink

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x		x			x

FRUITING PERIOD: Aug-Sep.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Disturbed, Moist forests
NATIVE RANGE: eastern North America

HORTICULTURAL
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:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 3
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 8
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
6627	1996-0264			View
8973	1993-0013	0000-00-00	1647	View
9530	2022-0024	2022-08-16	2618	View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
1647	HORT	1991-10-22	Ward	View
1741	HORT	2005-01-01	Bryan	View
2555	NPMD	2021-10-05	Boyette	View
2556	NPMD	2021-10-05	Boyette	View
2618	HORT	2019	Gocke	View
2672	NPMD	2022-09-28	Marzolf	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
7074	8973	11	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
9380	6627	8	NCBG staff	1996-03-05	View
13380	9530	188	Liloia	2022-08-02	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: ASEX
USDA Common Name: Poke Milkweed
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV), CAN (ON, QC)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	UPL				FACU	FAC		UPL	UPL

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Asclepias exaltata
COMMON NAME: Tall Milkweed, Poke Milkweed
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, G, Il, K, Pa, RAB, S, Va, W, Z]
PHENOLOGY: Jun-Jul; Aug-Sep.
HABITAT: Moist forests, slopes, and forest margins.
COMMENTS: 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.
RANGE MAP: Asclepias exaltata.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Apocynaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Dogbane Family)
SUMMARY: As here circumscribed including the Asclepiadaceae, a family of about 480 genera and about 4800 species, lianas, shrubs, herbs, and trees, widespread in tropical and temperate areas. There appears to be overwhelming evidence favoring the combination of the Asclepiadaceae into the Apocynaceae; see, for instance, Rosatti (1989), Sennblad & Bremer (1996), and many others.
REFERENCE: Rosatti (1989); Liede (1997a).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Asclepias L. (Milkweed)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 100 species, herbs, temperate and tropical, of North and Central America.
REFERENCE: Woodson (1954)=Z; Turner (2009b)=Y; Farmer & Bell (1985)=X.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Asclepias exaltata in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Asclepias exaltata in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Asclepias exaltata in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Asclepias exaltata in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Asclepias exaltata in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Asclepias exaltata

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 8751 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 23424 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 8751 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)