Acerates viridiflora var. lanceolata (E.Ives) A.Gray
Asclepias ivesii (Britton) Wooton & Standl.
Asclepias lanceolata Ives
Asclepias viridiflora var. lanceolata (E.Ives) Torr.
Asclepias viridiflora var. linearis (A.Gray) Fernald
Asclepias viridiflora var. pubescentitomentosa Hook.
Gomphocarpus viridiflorus (Raf.) Spreng.
Otanema ovata Raf.
Polyotus heterophyllus Nutt.
Asclepias viridiflora, is commonly known as green comet milkweed, green-flower milkweed, and green milkweed. It is a widely distributed species of milkweed (Asclepias), known from much of the eastern and central United States from Connecticut to Georgia to Arizona to Montana, as well as southern Canada and northern Mexico.[1] The Latin specific epithet viridiflora means green-flowered.[3]
Asclepias viridiflora is an erect to ascending herb up to 50 cm tall, with distinctive greenish-white flowers. The pods lack the warts and tubercules common on other species of Asclepias.[4][5][6] It grows in moist to dry shaded roadsides, fields, and prairies.[7]
The Blackfoot apply a poultice of chewed roots to swellings, rashes, sore gums of nursing infants,[10] and sore eyes.[11] They also chew the root for sore throats,[12] use the plant to spice soups, and use the fresh roots for food.[13] The BruléLakota give pulverized roots to children with diarrhea, and an infusion of the whole plant is taken by mothers to increase their milk.[14]
References
^ abNatureServe (4 August 2023). "Asclepias viridiflora". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
^"Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 31 December 2017.(Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)
^Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 75
^Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 80
^Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 71
^Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 101
^Rogers, Dilwyn J, 1980, Lakota Names and Traditional Uses of Native Plants by Sicangu (Brule) People in the Rosebud Area, South Dakota, St. Francis, SD. Rosebud Educational Society, page 34
