Calflora Taxon Report
Asclepias cordifolia (Benth.) Jeps.
Heart leaf milkweed, Heartleaf milkweed, Purple milkweed
Asclepias cordifolia is a perennial herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America.
Alternate Names and Sources:
Gomphocarpus cordifoliusPLANTS
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
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Bloom Period
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Potential Range Plant Characteristics Location Suitability
Observations: ~1,357 records Add an Observation to Calflora Search for Asclepias cordifolia
Name Status:
Accepted by: JEPS + PLANTS + POWO
Calflora Category:
angiosperm
Jepson eFlora section:
eudicot
USDA PLANTS group:
Dicot
Toxicity:
Do not eat any part of this plant.
Habitat:
slopes
Communities:
Yellow Pine Forest, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Foothill Woodland, Chaparral

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Additional Photos on Calflora
External links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page USDA Plant Profile Consortium of California Herbaria (CCH2) Integrated Taxonomic Info System (ITIS) International Plants Names Index (IPNI)
CalPhotos (UC Berkeley) iNaturalist PlantID.net Calscape (CNPS)

[Wikipedia] Native American Uses: Heart-leaf milkweed was valued by the Native American Miwok tribe for its stems, which they dried and processed into string and rope. A single Miwok feather skirt or cape was made with approximately 100 feet of cordage, requiring about 500 plant stalks. A 40-foot-long deer net contained about 7,000 feet of cordage, requiring the harvesting of approximately 35,000 plant stalks. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)

[Wikipedia] Taxonomy: The species name, cordifolia (Latin for 'heart-leaved'), refers to the heart-shaped leaves, while the genus name honors the Greek physician Asclepius. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)

[Wikipedia] Ecology: Monarch butterfly caterpillars are commonly found on all the milkweeds, including the heart-leaf milkweed. Even after the caterpillar has metamorphosed into a butterfly, the alkaloids they ingest from the plant are retained in the butterfly, making it unpalatable to predators. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)

Suggested Citation
“Calflora - Taxon Report.” The Calflora Database, a non-profit organization. .

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