Asclepias Viridis

Asclepias Viridis

Viridis

Asclepias viridissima, also called asclepias viridis, is a small native perennial plant that is found in the eastern, south-central and southern United States of America. It's also found in Florida, the Caribbean, Trinidad, and some Mid-Atlantic states. It's the state flower of Illinois and Tennessee, the state wildflower of Maryland, and the flower of Louisiana. It's a notorious environmental weed.

Growing your own plants from seed is the most economical way to add natives to your home. Before you get started, one of the most important things to know about the seeds of wild plants is that many have built-in dormancy mechanisms that prevent the seed from germinating. In nature, this prevents a population of plants from germinating all at once, before killing frosts, or in times of drought. To propagate native plants, a gardener must break this dormancy before seed will grow. (Source: www.prairiemoon.com)

Plant

Asclepias viridis is a plant that belongs to the genus of the milkweed family. It is a broadleaf perennial herb native to North America and the Americas. The plant has a low, spreading, and erect stem with a leaf base that is attached to the stem by a short petiole, giving it a cottage-like appearance. The stems can be spaced more than two feet apart and are generally more than two feet from the ground.

Spider Milkweed shares with other Asclepias species its milky, irritating sap and strong attractiveness to Monarch butterflies and a host of other insects. Like other milkweed species, Spider Milkweed is also avoided by mammalian herbivores and livestock. (Source: www.prairiemoon.com)

Monarch

Asclepias viridis is a plant that is most famous as the state flower of Louisiana and also the state flower of West Virginia. It is a wildflower that is found in prairies and disturbed areas of the eastern United States. It is also popular in the south of Europe and Central America.

Landis, Thomas D.; Dumroese, R. Kasten (2015). "Propagating Native Milkweeds for Restoring Monarch Butterfly Habitat" (PDF). International Plant Propagators' Society, Combined Proceedings (2014). 64: 299–307. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021 – via United States Department of Agriculture: United States Forest Service. (Source: en.wikipedia.org)