''Asclepias purpurascens'', the purple milkweed, is a herbaceous plant species. It is in the genus ''

Asclepias ''Asclepias'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to humans ...

'', making it a type of

milkweed ''Asclepias'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to humans ...

. It is native to the Eastern,

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

United States similar to the range of the

common milkweed ''Asclepias syriaca'', commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant. It is native to southern Canada and much of the United States east of the Rocky Moun ...

(''Asclepias syriaca''). The plant gets its name from the flowers that first develop a pink color but then turn darker purple as they mature. Unlike common milkweed, purple milkweed prefers some shade and is considered a plant of partial shade. It is also considered an indicator of oak savanna, especially in Wisconsin. The species rarely produces seed pods which are smooth, instead of the rough warty ones produced by common milkweed.

Conservation status in the United States

It is listed endangered in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, officially as historical to

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

(though with two recently discovered yet meager pouplations), as imperiled in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and as a special concern species in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Uses

Like other members of the milkweeds, several

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s live off the plant, including the

monarch butterfly The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It ...

(''Danaus plexippus''), the milkweed beetle (''Tetraopes tetraophtalmus''), large milkweed bug (''Oncopeltus fasciatus''), small milkweed bug (''Lygaeus kalmii'') and milkweed leaf beetle (''Labidomera clivicollis''). Other insects and pollinators feed off the flower's nectar. This species is sometimes cultivated in gardens designed to attract butterflies, but is less common than the light purple swamp milkweed (''Asclepias incarnata'') or the orange

butterfly weed ''Asclepias tuberosa'', commonly known as butterfly weed, is a species of milkweed native to eastern and southwestern North America. It is commonly known as butterfly weed because of the butterfly, butterflies that are attracted to the plant by ...

(''Asclepias tuberosa''). The nectar of the plant attracts many other species of butterflies and insects.

Gallery

File:Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurascens Top 2500px.JPG, Young developing plants show foliage reminiscent of

Asclepias syriaca ''Asclepias syriaca'', commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant. It is native to southern Canada and much of the United States east of the Rocky Moun ...

. File:Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurascens Young Buds.jpg, Undeveloped flower buds are light green. File:Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurascens Pink Buds.jpg, Flower buds turn pink before opening File:Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurascens Buds.jpg, Closeup of an unopened flower File:Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurascens Head.jpg, A newly bloomed flower head File:Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurascens Flower Top.jpg, Flower closeup from the top File:Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurascens Ant.jpg, A red ant feeding on the flower's nectar File:Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurascens Mature.jpg, Mature flowers are darker purple. File:Purple Milkweed Pod.jpg, Purple milkeed pod File:Purple Milkweed plant.JPG, Same purple milkweed plant that produced pod in flower File:Purple Milkweed Roots.JPG, Root system of pot grown purple milkweed

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q310133 purpurascens Butterfly food plants Flora of the Eastern United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus