Funastrum utahense

Utah vine milkweed

Family: Apocynaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Utah vine milkweed is a California native perennial found in the Desert bioregion in open, dry, sandy or gravelly areas at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from April to September, this plant produces yellow to orange flowers that mature from pale yellow to deep orange. Growing with thin, green stems that are minutely hairy, especially at the nodes and dense-white-hairy at the base, it develops thread-like leaves 15 to 40 millimeters long that become reflexed with age. Its distinctive leaves are persistent or may drop, appearing almost wire-like and spreading in delicate patterns across its habitat. The plant typically produces a single fruit pod 4 to 6 centimeters long, characteristic of its milkweed family.

Habitat: Open, dry, sandy or gravelly areas

Bloom period: Apr-Sep

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: D

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

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