''Asclepias subulata'' is a species 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 ...

known commonly as the rush milkweed, desert milkweed or ajamete. This is an erect perennial herb which loses its leaves early in the season and stands as a cluster of naked stalks. Atop the stems are

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s of distinctive flowers. Each cream-white flower has a reflexed corolla that reveals the inner parts, a network of five shiny columns, each topped with a tiny hook. The fruit is a pouchlike follicle that contains many flat, oval seeds with long, silky hairlike plumes. This milkweed is native to the desert southwest of the United States and northern Mexico. Researchers in

Bard, California Bard is an unincorporated community in Imperial County, California, United States, located along County Route S24. It lies at an elevation of 138 feet (42 m). Bard is home to the Imperial Date Gardens. Bard was created in 1910 after the easter ...

tested the plant as a potential source of

natural rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

in 1935. ''Asclepias subulata'' is a larval

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

for 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 ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment for ''Asclepias subulata''''Asclepias subulata'' — UC Photo gallery
subulata North American desert flora Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Flora of Arizona Flora of Nevada Natural history of the Colorado Desert Natural history of the Mojave Desert Rubber Flora without expected TNC conservation status Taxa named by Joseph Decaisne {{Apocynaceae-stub