• Family name: Apocynaceae or Asclepiadaceae

• Host plant for: Monarch (Danaus plexippus) and Queen (Danaus gilippus)

• General description: Erect herbaceous perennial with multiple stems, elongated leaves, and clusters of small whitish flowers. Easily cultivated and versatile. Tolerates most garden situations from full sun to shade and thrives with regular moisture. Use as alternative to the more widely available, non-native Mexican milkweed (Asclepias curassavica). Flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators.

• Type: Perennial
• Flower: White to pinkish-white flowers
• Bloom time: Spring to fall
• Soil type: Wet to somewhat well-drained soils
• Maximum height: 2 feet

• Candidate for home gardens: Excellent, easy to grow; both larval host and nectar source
• Availability in nursery: occasionally in retail centers, regularly in specialty and native plant nurseries
• Frenquency in the wild: Common
• Habitat: wetlands
• Range in Florida
  

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The Florida Wildflowers & Butterflies projects at the Florida Museum are sponsored in part by the State of Florida and the Florida Wildflower Foundation, Inc.