Asclepias californica
California milkweed
Family: Apocynaceae · Type: perennial · Native
California milkweed is a California native perennial found in central California Mountains, coastal areas, southern California, and desert regions in flats and grassy or brushy hillsides at elevations of 200 to 2,100 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces deep purple flowers with distinctive dark purple hoods that rise above the corolla base. Growing with dense-hairy stems that are decumbent to slightly ascending and reaching 30 to 60 centimeters tall, it forms a robust herbaceous perennial. Its opposite leaves are short-petioled with broad ovate blades, typically 5 to 10 centimeters long and densely covered in soft hairs. The mature plant produces erect fruits with seeds approximately one centimeter long, which develop on slightly reflexed pedicels.
Habitat: Flats, grassy or brushy hillsides
Bloom period: Apr-Jul
Elevation: 200-2100 m
Bioregions: c&s SNF, CW, SW, D
California counties: Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Kern, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Tulare, Ventura, Monterey, Orange, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Merced, Santa Barbara, Fresno, San Luis Obispo, Madera, San Benito, Mariposa, Alameda, Inyo, Alpine
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.