Cutler'S Milkweed (Asclepias cutleri)
Description
Asclepias cutleri (Cutler's Milkweed) Apocynaceae (Dogbane Family) formerly Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed Family) Semi-desert. Deep sands. Spring. Above: East of Bluff, Utah, May 6, 2014 and April 18, 2017. Left: East of Bluff, Utah, May 6, 2014. This rare, Four Corners area endemic Milkweed is found in deep sands or gravelly places at the lowest elevations of our area. The plant is quite slender, almost always leans, grows to no more than 7 inches tall, and occurs in small populations. What appear to be white petals in the photos are actually unusual Milkweed floral parts called "hoods". The petals are pink/lavender and reflexed (bent backward and downward) below the hoods. Within the hoods (and not visible in these photographs ) are minute horn-shaped structures that are attached to the inside of the hood and barely protrude from the hoods. The horns arch toward the center of the flower. In 1938 in Apache County, Arizona, economic botanist Hugh Cutler, collected this species for science and it was named and described in 1939 by Robert Woodson. (Click for more biographical information about Cutler.)
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Gentianales
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Family: Apocynaceae
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Genus: Asclepias
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