Asclepias albicans

White-stemmed milkweed

Family: Apocynaceae · Type: shrub · Native

White-stemmed milkweed is a California native shrub found in the Mojave Desert bioregion in dry washes and gravelly hillsides at elevations of 200 to 1,100 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces pale green-white flowers with occasional brown or pink tinge, with distinctive yellow hoods and prominent horns that extend beyond the corolla. Growing with somewhat erect and waxy stems that are lightly hairy, it forms a distinctive shrub with unique architectural qualities. Its leaves are opposite or whorled in groups of three, characterized by narrow-linear blades that are notably ephemeral. The plant produces pendulous fruits on spreading pedicels, with seeds approximately 6 millimeters long.

Habitat: dry washes, gravelly hillsides

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 200-1100 m

Bioregions: D

California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial, San Diego, Los Angeles

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.