Apocynaceae
Dogbane Family
Apocynum androsaemifolium L.
- Stem: perennial; 2 1/2’ to 4’ tall; shrublike with spreading branches; dark reddish; milky juice in the stem and leaves; smooth.
- Leaves: opposite; oval with round bases and pointed tips; 2 3/4” by 1 1/2”; leaf stalks 1/4”; few hairs above, smooth below.
- Inflorescence: few, nodding flowers on short flower stalks from the stem tip and upper leaf axils.
- Flowers: pink (sometimes white) corolla, with red stripes on the inside, bell-like with spreading lobes, 5/16” long; calyx 1/16” long with pointed lobes; flowering from mid-June to mid-July.
- Fruits: seedpods are long, narrow follicles, 3” to 7” long by 1/8” in diameter; seeds with a tuft of cottony hair at one end; fruiting begins in mid-July.
- Habitat: common in open woods; also on roadsides and mesic prairies; less common in southern and western Iowa.
- Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Vascular Plants of Iowa
