Nevada Native Milkweed Species
To help the monarchs, get passionate about milkweed.
Posted by YES! Magazine on Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Field Observations: A Few Nevada milkweeds
Heartleaf milkweed, Asclepias cordifolia
On the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in a variety of locations asclepias cordifolia can be observed. Much of your success in observing heartleaf milkweed will be dependent on the time of year you set out to locate the plants. Heartleaf milkweed is growing from mid spring thru the summer. Once fall arrives the plant's once lush leave and waving stem become dry and the plant goes dormant.
The timing of the first growth can vary due to winter precipitation and spring temperatures which vary greatly on the eastern slopes. The seed has a hard outer jacket. The inside of the seed is fleshy and requires moisture penetrate the outer jacket. Even then it requires warmth to trigger it to grow. Thanks to the advice of friends I learned to stratify the seed in water for sixty days.
If only it was that simple to start the plant from seed. During the sixty days submerged in water in the refrigerator I would alternate approximately every other week to the freezer. Don't freeze the seed in water. Drain the water then freeze the seed for a week. Refill the water at the end of the week and place it back in the fridge. Repeat the freeze thaw cycle for sixty days.
No, the seed isn't ready to sprout yet! The seed jacket is so strong that the root radical wont push thru. The plant is still trapped inside the seed. Clipping the tip of the seed at the pointy end is necessary to allow the root to begin growing. To clip the tip I use tweezers. Pull apart the tip of the seed jacket from all four directions to expose the tip of the root as seen in the photos. Front, Back, Left, Right. The root is now ready.
Showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa
Jewel milkweed, Asclepias cryptoceras
Jewel milkweed is about as hard as a diamond to locate. I'm not referring to the Mohs scale of hardness. Jewel milkweed is a very soft plant. The difficulty in simply standing next to Jewel milkweed is due to many things. The plant grows on steep slopes of 30 degrees which are covered in loose rock that slides easily. The slopes often face south which is of no consequence unless you are looking to see the fruit on a hot July day. Precipitation is low while the plant is producing vegetative growth. Ground water sometimes seeps from the mountains as a result of the previous winters snow pack into June.
The seed can be started immediately if it's freshly released from the plant. If the seed has been stored more than a few months then a treatment similar to the freeze thaw repetition described for Asclepias cordifolia is recommended. Clipping the tip will also help release the root when it begins to sprout. Asclepias cryptoceras is not a garden variety milkweed but is a good candidate for someone seeking a lifelong challenge.
A Guide to Common Milkweeds of Nevada
by www.xerces.org
by www.xerces.org
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Nevada is home to the longest running podcast dedicated to milkweed plants and the monarchs that use them.
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