Plains Milkweed
Asclepias pumila
Diminutive, thread-leaved milkweed of the shortgrass plains topped with tiny greenish-white umbels. A monarch and bee host on the driest, leanest ground.
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 1–2.5 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- June, July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- white, purple
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, butterflies, songbirds, larval host, monarch host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~12 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- border, naturalizing
- Native states
- CO, IA, KS, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WY
Related native plants
More Asclepias species
- Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
- Green Antelopehorn (Asclepias viridis)
- Antelope Horns (Asclepias asperula)
- Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)