This 655-acre native prairie was purchased from Vaughn Lumpee in 1987. Mr. Lumpee ran a cattle operation on this area and he had a great fondness for the cowboy lifestyle.
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Scientific Name
Asclepias verticillata
Family
Apocynaceae (dogbanes); formerly Asclepiadaceae (milkweeds)
Description
Whorled milkweed has rounded clusters of small white flowers. The leaves are soft, threadlike, and grow in whorls from the stem. It occurs in upland prairies and fields.
Whorled milkweed is an herbaceous perennial, usually unbranched but occasionally with a few branches toward the tip. The sap is milky.
The flowers are in the typical milkweed form, in small umbels arising from upper leaf nodes, white to greenish white, with 6–20 flowers per umbel.
Blooms May–September.
The leaves are threadlike, soft, to 2 inches long, arising from many whorls on the stem, with 3–6 leaves per whorl.
The fruits are smooth, narrow pods less than 4 inches long, erect, bearing seeds that have a tuft of white hairs.
Similar species: Similar in name, the fourleaf milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia) is also called "whorled milkweed." It looks much different, with 2 or 4 lance-shaped to ovate leaves per node, and often has pinkish flowers. Also, it lives in open woods instead of upland prairies.
Learn more about Missouri's milkweeds on their group page and on the several other individual species pages in this guide.
Size
Height: 8–24 inches.
Where To Find
Scattered nearly statewide, but nearly absent from the Bootheel lowlands.
Habitat and Conservation
Occurs in upland prairies, savannas, glades, exposed ledges and tops of bluffs, and sometimes in dry upland forests; also pastures, roadsides, and railroads.
Status
Native Missouri wildflower.
Human Connections
Milkweeds have a long list of historical medicinal uses, and the milky sap (latex) was once explored as a potential source of rubber.
Milkweeds are increasingly popular with native wildflower gardeners, because planting them can aid North America’s declining monarch butterfly populations.
Ecosystem Connections
Many bees, butterflies, and skippers drink nectar from the flowers, and crab spiders often hide in the clusters, hunting them.
Monarch butterflies use milkweeds as larval food plants, collecting the sap's toxic cardiac gycosides in their bodies and becoming unpalatable to predators.
The entire former milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae) has recently been rolled into the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). For many years, botanists have known the two families were closely related. The milkweed group, with its distinct floral structures, is still considered a unique subfamily or tribe of the dogbane family. As you consult various sources, you can expect to see milkweeds grouped in either family.
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Caption
These are the flowers of whorled milkweed, Asclepias verticillata. The milkweed group, with its distinctive floral structures, is a unique subfamily (or tribe) of the dogbane family. Even if you don’t remember all the terms for the unusual flower parts, it’s easy to learn to recognize the unique look of these flowers at a glance.
Credit
Julianna Schroeder
Right to Use
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
Image
Caption
Whorled milkweed has rounded clusters of small white flowers. The leaves are soft, threadlike, and grow in whorls from the stem. It occurs in upland prairies and fields.
Credit
Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org
Right to Use
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
Image
Caption
The flowers of whorled milkweed are white to greenish white, have the typical milkweed form, and grow in small umbels arising from upper leaf nodes. There are 6–20 flowers per umbel. It blooms May–September.
Credit
Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org
Right to Use
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
Image
Caption
Whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)
Credit
Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org
Right to Use
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
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Similar Species
Similar Species
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Where to See Species
About Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants in Missouri
A very simple way of thinking about the green world is to divide the vascular plants into two groups: woody and nonwoody (or herbaceous). But this is an artificial division; many plant families include some species that are woody and some that are not. The diversity of nonwoody vascular plants is staggering! Think of all the ferns, grasses, sedges, lilies, peas, sunflowers, nightshades, milkweeds, mustards, mints, and mallows — weeds and wildflowers — and many more!