Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm., Curly Milkweed, at the Berry College Campus, Mt. Berry, Floyd County, Georgia; (May 21, 2009, and May 20, 2006)

Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm., Curly Milkweed, at the Berry College Campus, Mt. Berry, Floyd County, Georgia; (June, 2001)

Scientific name: Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm. Common name: Curly Milkweed, Blunt-leaved Milkweed Family: Asclepiadaceae Origin: Native Records of blooming: May 30, 2004; May 20, 2006; May 21 2009 Habitat: roadsides, clearings, sandy hills Comments: At John D. Freeman Herbarium (AUA), Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama there is herbarium specimen AUA No. 252 Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm. , collected in Rome, Floyd County, Georgia by Alvin W. Chapman (1809-1899) in 1872-1891.

NATURAL HISTORY: John Abbot (1751-1840?), an English entomologist and naturalist, discovered Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm. in southeast Georgia. From 1775 he lived near Augusta, Georgia where he studied, collected and painted plants, butterflies, and birds. Sir James Edward Smith (1759-1828), a British botanist and a founder of Linnaean Society, published the Asclepias amplexicaulis species in his The natural history of the rarer lepidoterous insects of Georgia. Including their systematic characters, the particulars of their several metamorphoses, and the plants on which they feed. Collected from the observation of Mr. John Abbot, many years resident in that country. London: T. Bensley, for J. Edwards 1797. Vol. I., Tab. VII; 13

Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm., Curly Milkweed, and Danaus gilippus, Queen by John Abbot (1797)	Caterpillars of Danaus gilippus, Queen on Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm. at the Berry College Campus, May 28, 2009.

Last updated on May 30, 2009

References :
1. Johnson, Martha Josephine. " Naturalists and Plant Explorers in Georgia until 1850 ( with Illustrations of Some Native Plants Observed)." Dissertation University of Georgia, Athens 1972: 213.
2. Illustration: Smith, James E. The natural history of the rarer lepidoterous insects of Georgia. Including their systematic characters, the particulars of their several metamorphoses, and the plants on which they feed. Collected from the observation of Mr. John Abbot, many years resident in that country. London: T. Bensley, for J. Edwards, 1797. Vol. I., Tab. VII; 13 :
© 1995-2005 Missouri Botanical Garden (http://www.illustratedgarden.org)
3. Images by Zvezdana Ukropina-Crawford
4. USDA-NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.