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Desert milkweed

Asclepias erosa

Desert milkweed
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0

Desert milkweed (Asclepias erosa) is a perennial herb of dry desert regions in the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico, with yellow-green stems and cream-colored flower umbels. It grows best in full sun with very little water.

Family
Apocynaceae (Dogbane family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly, letting the soil dry out fully between waterings.
Soil
Fast-draining sandy or gritty soil.
Temperature
18–35 °C; protect below 0 °C
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Toxic: Milkweeds contain cardiac glycosides in the sap and leaves that can cause nausea, vomiting, and heart irregularities if eaten.
Native range
SW. U.S.A. to NW. Mexico
Climate
desert or dry shrubland

About

Asclepias erosa is a species of milkweed known commonly as desert milkweed. It is native to southern California, Arizona, and northern Baja California, where it is most abundant in the desert regions.

Uses

The plant is filled with a viscous sap that was roasted to a solid and enjoyed as a sort of chewing gum by local Native American groups. Researchers in Bard, California tested the plant as a potential source of natural rubber in 1935.

Other Asclepias plants

Cartwheels · Whitestem milkweed · Spider milkweed · California milkweed · Heartleaf milkweed · Bloodflower · Curtiss' milkweed · Woollypod milkweed · Poke milkweed · Mexican whorled milkweed · Florida milkweed · Swamp milkweed

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Asclepias erosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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