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Wednesday - December 10, 2008

From: Los Fresnos, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Looking for Asclepians texana and other milkweed seeds
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Hi. I was wondering where I could find seeds of Asclepias Texana, and other rare or uncommon Milkweeds. I am looking for seeds of all the Asclepias species. I have swamp, Clasping, and butterflyweed seeds. I also have Showy and Common Milkweed seeds. Thank-you. Where could I get plants? What Milkweeds grow wildly in my area in Cameron County, south Texas

ANSWER:

Mother Earth News has published a list of Sources for Monarch Butterfly Waystation Plants on its website. The webpages for those nurseries that I checked did not list Asclepias texana (Texas milkweed). This isn't surprising since it is endemic to Texas, occurring in only 9 counties in south central Texas and 2 counties in the Big Bend area. You may have difficulty finding seeds for this species. One possibility is to contact someone in a chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas in those areas (e.g., Big Bend chapter, Austin chapter, Kerrville chapter) to see if they know a source. You can also search for nurseries and seed companies in our National Suppliers Directory that might carry seeds of this species and other species of Asclepias.

There are three native species that grow in or near Cameron County:

Asclepias linearis (slim milkweed) and its Texas distribution

Asclepias oenotheroides (zizotes milkweed) and its Texas distribution

Asclepias emoryi (Emory's milkweed) grows nearby in Hidalgo and Kenedy Counties.

The non-native, introduced, Asclepias curassavica (bloodflower), also occurs in Cameron County.

Asclepias texana

Asclepias linearis