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General: Rush Milkweed (Asclepias subulata) is a perennial forb (or subshrub) with tall, upright, leafless stems, milkweed flowers at the stem tips, and large seed pods.
Rush Milkweed is an uncommon component of desert and upland
vegetation communities on flats, along washes, and on bajadas in the Lower
Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage
Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave
Desert Scrub) life zones.
Around Las Vegas, look for Rush Milkweed south of town along the Colorado River and southward into the Mojave National Preserve. |
Rush Milkweed flowerhead |
Family: Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae)
Other Names:
Plant Form: Upright, perennial forb
Height: To about 3 feet.
Stems: Green, narrow, upright, hairless, few branches.
Leaves: Narrowly linear, opposite, ephemeral, sessile. |
Rush Milkweed empty seedpod with central rachis intact |
Flowers: Blooms in spring. Can also bloom in the summer and late fall (last of October) as conditions permit. Inflorescence: terminal umbel. Flower: typical milkweed flower with yellow "petals" and reflexed, green sepals.
Seeds: Fruits hang down when ripe. Capsule contains seeds with long, white plumes of silky hairs that carry the seed on the wind. Seeds form on central rachis.
Habitat: Dry soils on flats, in and along washes, and on bajadas into the lower mountains.
Elevation: To about 2,500 feet
Distribution: California, Nevada, Arizona, and south into Mexico.
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