green comet milkweed, more...green antelopehorn milkweed, green milkweed
[Acerates viridiflora (Raf.) Pursh ex Eat., moreAcerates viridiflora var. ivesii Britt., Acerates viridiflora var. linearis A. Gray, Asclepias viridiflora var. lanceolata Torr., Asclepias viridiflora var. linearis (A. Gray) Fern.]
Plant: perennial herb; stems erect or ascending, typically unbranched, 10-50 cm tall; milky sap Leaves: opposite to irregularly alternate, the petioles 2-7 mm long, the blades narrowly lanceolate to linear, 5-14 cm long, 2-17 mm broad, attenuate to an acute apex, acute to obtuse at the base INFLORESCENCE: UMBELS lateral at 1 to few of the upper nodes, 3-4 cm broad, the peduncles 0.4-1.5 cm long Flowers: small; calyx lobes 3-4 mm long; corolla greenish, the lobes 5-7 mm long; hoods greenish yellow, erect and appressed to the anthers, ellipsoid-oblong, obtuse-rounded at the top, 2.8-3.8 mm long, 1-1.3 mm broad in the middle, ca. 1 mm shorter than the gynostegium, the horns absent; anther wings 2-2.6 mm along their entire length, the upper portion 1.4-1.7 mm long; corpusculum 0.3-0.4 mm long, the pollinia conspicuously long attenuate above, 1.6-2 mm long Fruit: FOLLICLES erect on deflexed pedicels, 7-15 cm long Misc: Open pine forests; apparently rare; 1600-2150 m (5300-7000 ft); May-Aug REFERENCES: Sundell, Eric. 1994. Asclepiadaceae. J. Ariz. – Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27, 169-187.