9b. Asclepias incarnata Linnaeus subsp. pulchra (Ehrhart ex Willdenow) Woodson, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 41: 53. 1954.
[E F]
Swamp milkweed
Asclepias pulchra Ehrhart ex Willdenow, Sp. Pl. 1: 1267. 1798; A. incarnata var. neoscotica Fernald; A. incarnata [unranked] pulchra (Ehrhart ex Willdenow) Persoon
Stems 30–150 cm, densely pilose. Leaves: petiole 1–8 mm, pilose; blade lanceolate to ovate, 5–15 × 1.5–4.5 cm, surfaces pilose. Peduncles densely pilose. Pedicels pilose. Flowers: corolla dark pink to pink; corona dark to pale pink; anthers brown.
Flowering Jun–Sep; fruiting Jul–Oct. Pond and lake shores, marshes, bogs, saturated sandy and rocky soils, wet meadows, flatwoods, riparian woods, thickets; 0–900 m; N.B., N.S., P.E.I.; Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Maine, Md., Mass., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tex., Vt., Va.
Subspecies pulchra is most common on the coastal plain east of the Appalachian Mountains. There are sporadic occurrences outside this region, and the subspecies has been collected at several sites in eastern Texas. A record from western Illinois (Henry County) may represent a mistaken locality or a waif—there is no evidence that subsp. pulchra persists there. Only a single record is known from Prince Edward Island (Blaney 3274 [ACAD]). The name A. incarnata var. pulchra is often seen in the literature, but this combination attributed to Persoon was unranked by him (K. Gandhi, pers. comm.).
