Asclepias vestita

Woolly milkweed, Woolly Milkweed

Family: Apocynaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Woolly milkweed is a California native perennial found in the Great Valley, Central Western, Transverse Ranges, and Mojave Desert in dry plains, brushy flats, hillsides, and desert canyons at elevations of 50 to 1,350 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces cream to purple flowers with distinctive yellow-white hoods that occasionally feature a vertical brown stripe. Growing with ascending stems that are dense-hairy and becoming less hairy with age, it forms a compact plant reaching moderate heights. Its opposite leaves are elliptic, lanceolate, or ovate, typically with short petioles, creating a dense and textured appearance. The plant produces unusually large seeds, approximately 10 millimeters long, which are carried in erect fruits.

Habitat: dry plains, brushy flats, hillsides, desert canyons

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 50-1350 m

Bioregions: GV, CW, TR, DMoj.

California counties: San Bernardino, Fresno, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Inyo, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Joaquin, Ventura, San Benito, Monterey, Kern, Contra Costa, Amador, Merced, Stanislaus, Mariposa, Tulare

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