Red Milkweed (Asclepias rubra L.)
Also known as tall pink bog milkweed.
↑Summary
An obligate species of wetlands with acidic soils. A milkweed with a restricted range, mostly found in bogs, having dark pink flowers. Endangered in much of its range, with many populations extirpated.
↑Range - Expand
| Legend | Color |
| Native | |
| Extirpated | |
| Native or Not Present |
This tentative map is based on our own research. It may have limited data on Canada and/or Mexico, and there is some subjectivity in our assignment of plants as introduced vs. expanded. Read more in this blog post.
Although this plant occurs somewhere in each of these regions, it may only occur in a small part of some or all of them.
↑Habitat
Restricted to consistently wet conditions with acidic soils. Able to grow in acidic conditions that few other plants tolerate, but cannot tolerate competition from more vigorously-growing vegetation on less acidic sites.
Found in bogs, wet pine savannas, and seeps in sandy areas.
↑Uses
Uncommonly planted in wet spots in gardens. It is a good choice of plant for artifical bogs, and can be grown in other types of constructed wetlands, although it does not tolerate competition from other plants in richer wetland habitats.
↑Links & External Resources
• Asclepias rubra (Red Milkweed) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)
• Asclepias rubra | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)
• Asclepias rubra | NatureServe Explorer (About This Site)
• Red Milkweed | Maryland Biodiversity Project (About This Site)
• Asclepias rubra L. (Red Milkweed) | Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (About This Site)
