Summary ²

Asclepias incarnata, the swamp milkweed, rose milkweed, rose milkflower, swamp silkweed, or white Indian hemp, is a herbaceous perennial plant species native to North America. It grows in damp to wet soils and also is cultivated as a garden plant for its flowers, which attract butterflies and other pollinators with nectar. Like most other milkweeds, it has sap containing toxic chemicals, a characteristic that repels insects and other herbivorous animals.

Description ³

Family:
Apocynaceae (Dogbane)

Height:
2 to 6 feet

Leaves:
Opposite and narrow, up to 4 inches long. Stems and leaves bleed a milky sap when broken.

Flower:
Large pink clusters at the top of the stem

Bloom time:
June-September

Nicknames:
Silkweed, Rose Milkweed

Habitat:
Wet meadows, shorelines, and other sunny, wet or moist areas

Wildlife Benefits:
Attractive to bees and butterflies, monarchs in particular.

Can I plant this in my garden?
Swamp milkweed can be grown in a garden with full or partial sun and rich soils that are moist or wet.

References:
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/sw_milkweed.htm

Range ³

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, all rights reserved, uploaded by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District
2. Adapted by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_incarnata
3. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• OregonFlora.org
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

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