Asclepias cordifolia

$6.60 – $14.50

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Heart-leaf Milkweed

Asclepias cordifolia is a perennial herb species of milkweed native to dry inland mountainous slopes of California, Nevada, and Oregon.

Growing 1-2 feet tall and wide, with deep green and pink heart-shaped leaves. Heartleaf milkweed blooms in spring and summer, popping up dark red-purple umbels of flowers. (Each individual flower in an umbel is called an umbellet!)

Heart-leaf milkweed does go dormant, so be sure to remember where you plant it! A monarch butterfly host plant, Heart-leaf milkweed is best planted in rocky soil that drains quickly. Plant in a sunny spot or a large container, and don’t water once established!

Lifeform: Perennial

Sun: Full Sun, Part Shade

Water: Dry, Light

Soil: Loam, Rocky, Sand

Other: Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Moths, Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant

 

Ecological Value

Host plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars, nectar source for butterflies, attracts various insects that serve as food for birds.
Container

D-16-O, D-16, D-40
Historical Uses

Yurok and Karok peoples boil, condense, and would chew the latex as a candy. Miwok use the root as medicine and stems as cordage.
Distribution

Western United States (CA, NV, OR), native to the Western Sierras and from Richmond up to Klamath in California.
Elevation

0 to 7415 ft
Communities

Chaparral, Foothill Woodland, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Yellow Pine Forest
Habitat

Rocky slopes, talus lava flows

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