Milkweeds Are Found in Illinois
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MilMilI lkwkw l i needs oeeds i s Photo © Jan Sundberg Photo © Jan Sundberg Photo © Gerald D. Tang Photo © Gerald D. Tang Photo © Adele Hodde, IDNR Photo © Adele Hodde, IDNR Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Christopher D. Benda poke milkweed Asclepias exaltata tall green milkweed Asclepias hirtella bluevine Ampelamus albidus sand milkweed Asclepias amplexicaulis Photo © Carol Freeman Photo © Carol Freeman Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Adele Hodde, IDNR Photo © Adele Hodde, IDNR Photo © Gerald D. Tang Photo © Gerald D. Tang Mead’s milkweed Asclepias meadii oval milkweed Asclepias ovalifolia woolly milkweed Asclepias lanuginosa swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Gerald D. Tang Photo © Gerald D. Tang Photo © Jan Sundberg Photo © Jan Sundberg Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Christopher D. Benda white swamp milkweed Asclepias perennis purple milkweed Asclepias purpurascens whorled milkweed Asclepias quadrifolia showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa Photo © Jan Sundberg Photo © Jan Sundberg Photo © Gerald D. Tang Photo © Gerald D. Tang Photo © Gerald D. Tang Photo © Gerald D. Tang Photo © Joe Bauer, IDNR Photo © Joe Bauer, IDNR prairie milkweed Asclepias sullivantii common milkweed Asclepias syriaca narrow-leaved green milkweed Asclepias stenophylla butterfly-weed Asclepias tuberosa Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Jan Sundberg Photo © Jan Sundberg Photo © Christopher D. Benda Photo © Christopher D. Benda variegated milkweed Asclepias variegata horsetail milkweed Asclepias verticillata green milkweed Asclepias viridiflora green-flowered milkweed Asclepias viridis wenty-four species of milkweeds are found in Illinois. They grow in a ■ endangered in Illinois This poster variety of habitats. Most milkweeds have leaves in pairs or in whorls Species List ■ endangered in Illinois, threatened federally was made possible by: Kingdom Plantae of four and sap that is white and milky. Milkweed flowers develop in Illinois Department of Division Magnoliophyta an umbel at the stem tip or in the leaf axils in the upper part of the Natural Resources Class Magnoliopsida showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa plant. Color varies with the species, but varieties include white, pink, Order Gentianales narrow-leaved green milkweed Asclepias stenophylla Division of Education with assistance from the prairie milkweed Asclepias sullivantii red, orange, green, red-purple and purple-pink flowers. Each flower Family Asclepiadaceae Division of Natural Heritage has five petals and five sepals that bend away from the other flower structures and a bluevine Ampelamus albidus common milkweed Asclepias syriaca sand milkweed Asclepias amplexicaulis butterfly-weed Asclepias tuberosa Tfive-parted cup that supports five horns and hoods. Pollinators visit milkweed poke milkweed Asclepias exaltata variegated milkweed Asclepias variegata flowers for their nectar. The fruit that develops from the fertilized flower is a pod that tall green milkweed Asclepias hirtella horsetail milkweed Asclepias verticillata Plants are not shown in equal proportion contains seeds attached to floss. A close relationship exists between monarch swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata green milkweed Asclepias viridiflora woolly milkweed Asclepias lanuginosa green-flowered milkweed Asclepias viridis to actual size. butterflies (Danaus plexippus) and milkweed plants. Monarch larvae only eat milkweed Mead’s milkweed Asclepias meadii climbing milkweed Matelea decipiens * climbing milkweed Matelea gonocarpos * Classification and nomenclature are based on the follow- plants of the genera Asclepias and Ampelamus. If there are no milkweeds plants, there oval milkweed Asclepias ovalifolia ing source. Other authors may differ on the classification will be no monarchs. As of 2016, five species of milkweeds are listed as endangered white swamp milkweed Asclepias perennis climbing milkweed Matelea obliqua * and nomenclature associated with these plants. purple milkweed Asclepias purpurascens black swallow-wort Vincetoxicum nigrum * Mohlenbrock, R. H. 2014. Vascular flora of Illinois. in Illinois with one of those species also listed as threatened federally. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 544 pp. whorled milkweed Asclepias quadrifolia * Photo found on reverse side. I l l i n o i s WhatWhat areareMilMil MilkweedMilkweeds?s? kwkweedseedsMilkweeds&Milkweeds& Monarchs Monarchs ilkweeds are herbaceous, perennial plants, meaning that they are soft-stemmed plants that die to flower column has slits in it. Inside each slit is an opening where pollen (containing male reproductive Mground level at the end of each growing season but grow back from the roots the next spring. Most cells) must be delivered to fertilize the egg and start the development of a new milkweed plant. Also in have leaves that are paired on the stem or in whorls of four on the each slit is the pollinarium that contains the pollen in packets. stem, but there are also milkweed plants with leaves alternating on petals Pollinators, including adult monarch butterflies (Danaus the stem, and those that have so many leaves that it is hard to see a plexippus), visit milkweeds for their nectar. Nectar is a sweet solution pattern. Most of them have sap that is white and milky. Milkweed produced by flowers to attract pollinators. Milkweeds have a unique plants contain cardiac glycosides. These chemicals are poisonous and system for pollen transfer. When an insect visits a milkweed flower to affect birds and mammals. Many grazing mammals will not eat drink nectar, its leg, antennae or bristles can slip into the slit in the Photo © Joe Bauer, IDNR milkweeds. The toxicity of milkweeds varies by species, though, and flower where the pollen is stored. The pollen-containing structure Photo © Joe Bauer, IDNR tends to be greater in milkweeds in the southern United States. A few clips onto the insect part. When the insect pulls away from the flower, Photo © Carol Freeman Photo © Carol Freeman animal species have adapted to eating milkweeds and thrive on them. hoods this pollen packet goes, too. The same insect body part may slip Monarch larvae feed exclusively on milkweeds of the Asclepias and inside a slit in the flower column of a different flower. If the pollen Ampelamus genera. The poisons accumulate in the body of the larval packet is placed precisely where it needs to be, that flower will be monarchs and are retained by the monarch in its transformation to pollinated. If the pollen packet is not deposited in the exact position the adult. They make monarchs unpalatable to many predators. required, fertilization will not occur. The amount of precision close relationship exists between monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) and milkweed plants. Milkweed flowers develop in an umbel at the stem tip or in the required may be the reason that milkweeds produce so few fruits. Monarchs have a life cycle that includes four stages: egg; larva; pupa; and adult. Monarch larvae feed leaf axils in the upper part of the plant. An umbel has a central horns Pollinator populations are declining. As their numbers continue to A point from which a group of flowers all develop. In some milkweed decrease, the amount of viable seeds from milkweeds will also be exclusively on milkweed plants of the genera Asclepias and Ampelamus. If there is no milkweed, there will species the flowers are arranged in a spherical shape, while in other smaller, leading to fewer milkweed plants, fewer milkweed flowers and be no monarchs. Female monarchs usually lay their eggs only on milkweed plants so that the larvae will have an immediate food source when they hatch from the egg. They find milkweeds by using visual and species the flowers droop. Color varies by species, but milkweeds poke milkweed flowers less pollen and nectar for pollinators. can be found with white, pink, red, orange, green, red-purple and The fruit that develops from the fertilized flower is a pod that chemical cues. Monarch adults often visit milkweed flowers for the nectar they produce, but they are not purple-pink flowers. The flowers are often described as having an hourglass shape. Each flower has five contains seeds attached to floss. Seeds with floss are easily dispersed by wind. An exception, though, is restricted to these plants as the larvae are. petals and five sepals that bend away from the other flower structures. A five-parted cup supports five provided by the white swamp milkweed (Asclepias perennis). This species’ seeds are dispersed by water instead Two invasive milkweed species that are native to Europe have been growing in North America since the small horns and hoods. The hoods contain nectar and are arranged around the central flower column. The of wind, and they do not have floss. 1800s. Black swallow-wort (Vincetoxicum nigrum) can be found in Illinois. Pale swallow-wort (Vincetoxicum rossicum) grows in Illinois’ neighboring states of Indiana, Wisconsin and Missouri and may also be present in Illinois. Problems occur when female monarchs lay eggs on these two species. They are known as “dead-end” hosts. Monarch larvae cannot eat them. The larvae hatched from eggs on these plants will die. Experiments have shown that female monarchs will lay eggs on these nonnative plants even when native milkweeds are present in the same area. These two swallow-wort species also crowd out native milkweed plants, reducing native