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white swamp milkweed

white swamp milkweed (Asclepias perennis)
Illinois Status: common, native
Photo © Christopher David Benda

Features and Behaviors

FEATURES
White swamp milkweed, also known as aquatic milkweed or thin-leaved milkweed, grows to about two feet in height. Pairs of leaves are arranged opposite each other on the stem. Seedpods are up to two and one-half inches in length. Flowers are positioned in the leaf axils and are white or pink in color.

BEHAVIORS
White swamp milkweed flowers May through September. It is found in the southern one-fourth of the state, along the Wabash River and in Richland County. This species grows in wet woods, swamps, ditches and on pond and stream banks. Its habitats must be shaded and wet. Seeds do not have tufts of hairs as those of other milkweeds and are dependent on water for dispersal.

Illinois Range

Taxonomy

​Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae

Habitats

Aquatic Habitats
bottomland forests; marshes; rivers and streams; swamps

Woodland Habitats
bottomland forests