NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

purpurascens

Purple Milkweed

Herb/Wildflower

Perennial

Apocynaceae (Dogbane Family)

^(*Key)

1-3 ft.

Pink, Purple

Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day, Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day

Moist, Wet

May, June, July

Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plain

Openings in moist bottomlands and swamp forests, prairies, woodlands, perhaps mostly on soils derived from mafic or calcareous rocks. Rare throughout NC.

Opposite

Deciduous

Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like

Simple

Perennial

Important for Wildlife

Recommended and Available

S1: Critically imperiled ^(*Key)

G_?: Uncertain (add status to NOTES section) ^(*Key)

SR-T: Significantly Rare: Throughout ^(*Key)

The NC Natural Heritage Program gives NC rank as S1? and Global rank as G5?

Detail of Purple Milkweed showing a cluster of blossoms each with deep rose , strongly reflexed corolla lobes.

Will Stuart

Purple Milkweed blossoms and leaves. This photograph from the Courtyard Gardens at the North Carolina Botanical Garden.

Will Stuart

USDA PLANTS Database Record

NC Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/asclepias-purpurascens/

Go Botany: https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/asclepias/purpurascens/

Vascular Plants of NC: https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/species_account.php

700 Bird-friendly Plants for NC: https://nc.audubon.org/700