Asclepias fascicularis

Narrow-leaf milkweed, Narrow-Leaf Milkweed

Family: Apocynaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Narrow-leaf milkweed is a California native perennial found in valleys and foothills throughout most of California except the northern coastal and central coastal regions, at elevations of 50 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces white to green-white flowers with purple-tinged petals and distinctive elevated green-white hoods. Growing with ascending to erect stems, it forms clusters of narrow-lanceolate leaves often arranged in whorls of 3 to 5, with smaller leaf clusters developing in axils. Its leaves are narrow and tapered at the base, typically arranged opposite on the stem or in whorled patterns. The plant produces erect fruits containing seeds 5.5 to 7 millimeters long, with distinctive horn-like structures extending beyond the flower hoods.

Habitat: dry ground, valleys, foothills

Bloom period: May-Oct

Elevation: 50-2200 m

Bioregions: CA (exc NCo, n CCo)

California counties: San Diego, Lake, Kern, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Fresno, Plumas, Tulare, Riverside, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Inyo, San Luis Obispo, Orange, Santa Clara, Monterey, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Ventura, Contra Costa, Calaveras, Santa Cruz, Alameda, Mariposa, Sonoma, Mendocino, San Joaquin, Amador, El Dorado, Tuolumne, Placer, Colusa, Modoc, Mono, Lassen, Merced, Yolo, Shasta, Butte, Madera, Stanislaus, Yuba, Sacramento, Alpine, Marin, Trinity, Solano, Kings, Tehama, Sutter, Sierra, Napa, Nevada, Glenn, San Benito

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