Slimleaf milkweed (Asclepias stenophylla)
Description
The most spidery of Minnesota's native milkweeds it could be more difficult to spot but for its austere habitat preference. Few-flowered umbels and long thread-like leaves present a delicate profile. A difficult task to find but for direct info on Minnesota's only known location-we walked right up to them. The steepness of the goat prairie and other attending flora in bloom, along with the breath-taking drop of the horizon into verdant valleys below, made for a spectabulus day. According to the DNR, the one known population of Narrow-leaved Milkweed in MN may have migrated here from natural species dispersion, rather than a remnant population from times past. It was added to the State Endangered List in 1984. All Asclepias were formerly in family Asclepiadaceae but have been reassigned to Apocynaceae (Dogbane).
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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