California Milkweed
Asclepias californica
Color: Dull to bright shades of lavender or pink.
Common name: California Milkweed
Latin name: Asclepias californica
Family: APOCYNACEAE, formerly included in Asclepiadaceae
Height: 11-12 inches
Description: It has thick, white, woolly stems which bend and run along the ground or angle up from the base with plentiful, hanging flowers.
Leaf: Opposite and egg-shaped.
Range: Central and Southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, Central Western California, Southwestern California, Desert
Habitat: Flats, grassy or brushy hillsides
Elevation: 200–2100 m
Flowering time: Apr–Jul
Notes: This plant was eaten as candy by the Kawaiisu tribes of indigenous California; the milky sap within the leaves is flavorful and chewy when cooked. Asclepias californica is an important and specific Monarch butterfly food plant in nectar and vegetation, and cocoon habitat plant. The alkaloids they ingest from the plant are retained in the butterfly, making it unpalatable to predators. It can cause minor dermatitis in humans. Photographed May 30, 2009 with a Canon EOS 30D and 100mm macro lens. Asclepias californica, a dicot, is a perennial herb that is native to California and is found only slightly beyond California borders. Distribution outside California: Northern Baja California.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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