Carolina Milkweed

asclepias cinerea

Carolina Milkweed (Asclepias cinerea) is a delicate and slender perennial wildflower native to the sandy pinelands and savannas of the southeastern United States. Standing quietly amidst wiregrass and longleaf pines, this understated milkweed is characterized by its exceptionally narrow, needle-like leaves and subtle, ash-colored flowers. Unlike some of its more robust and colorful relatives, Carolina Milkweed boasts a quiet, minimalist beauty that blends effortlessly into its native grassy habitats. Historically adapted to fire-maintained ecosystems, this species relies on regular, low-intensity forest fires to clear competing vegetation and stimulate growth. It plays an important role in the local ecology, serving as a larval host plant for monarch and queen butterflies, while offering nectar to specialized native bees and wasps that are strong enough to extract its pollen sacs.

生息地: Found in open, sandy pine flatwoods, savannas, and sandhills of the southeastern United States coastal plains.

外見

Carolina Milkweed is a slender, upright herbaceous plant growing 30 to 60 cm tall, often with single or few unbranched stems. Its most distinguishing feature is its extremely narrow, linear, almost thread-like leaves that are 5 to 10 cm long and only a few millimeters wide, arranged oppositely along the stem. The flowers are small and clustered in loose, flat-topped umbels, showing a pale ash-gray, purplish, or greenish-white hue. Each flower has the classic milkweed structure with five reflexed petals pointing downward and five hoods forming a crown, resulting in a complex, star-like appearance close up.

界Plantae門Tracheophyta綱Magnoliopsida目Gentianales科Apocynaceae属Asclepias

Carolina Milkweed

カテゴリ

植物

レア度

Common

危険度

1/5 · 非常に低い

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おもしろい事実

Its leaves are so exceptionally narrow and needle-like that the plant virtually disappears into the surrounding wiregrass when not in bloom.

Like other milkweeds, it produces a sticky white latex sap that can gum up the mouthparts of small insects trying to feed on it.

The species name 'cinerea' comes from the Latin word for 'ash-colored,' directly describing the plant's dusty gray-purple blossoms.

特殊能力

Produces toxic cardenolides (cardiac glycosides) in its tissues, making it unpalatable and poisonous to most generalist herbivores.

Features a deep, resilient taproot that allows the plant to resprout quickly and thrive following natural low-intensity wildfires.

Packages its pollen into specialized sticky sacs called pollinia, which temporarily trap the legs of visiting insects to guarantee pollination.

サイズと詳細

長さ: 30-60 cm
寿命: 3-8 年

食性と食事

As an autotrophic plant, Carolina Milkweed generates its own food through photosynthesis, utilizing sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water while absorbing minerals from sandy soils.

主な食物

Sunlight
Carbon dioxide
Water
Soil minerals

採餌方法

Photosynthesis

生態系とのつながり

eaten by

Monarch Butterfly

Danaus plexippus

Larvae feed exclusively on the foliage of this plant to accumulate defensive toxins.

mutualism

American Bumblebee

Bombus pennsylvanicus

Visits the flowers for nectar and acts as an efficient pollinator of the species.

eaten by

Queen Butterfly

Danaus gilippus

Larvae utilize the leaves as a critical food source during their development.

特徴

このオブジェクトにはまだ特徴バッジが割り当てられていません。

別名

まだ別名はありません。

コレクション

テーマが追加されると、このオブジェクトのコレクションがここに表示されます。

安全性

危険度

1/5 · 非常に低い

まだ特別な安全上の注意はありません。

よくある質問

Carolina Milkweedを見分けるには？

Carolina Milkweedを識別する最も簡単な方法は、Snappit自然識別アプリを使用することです。

Carolina Milkweedの長さは何ですか？

30-60 cm

Carolina Milkweedの寿命は何ですか？

3-8 年

Carolina Milkweedは何を食べますか？

As an autotrophic plant, Carolina Milkweed generates its own food through photosynthesis, utilizing sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water while absorbing minerals from sandy soils.

Carolina Milkweedは通常どこに生息していますか？

Found in open, sandy pine flatwoods, savannas, and sandhills of the southeastern United States coastal plains.

Carolina Milkweedはどのように狩りをしますか？

Photosynthesis