Asclepias incarnata; Asclepiadaceae (milkweed family)

A relative of yesterday’s FOTD.  A few characteristics differentiate the two. Note how the inflorescences in the picture above are held upright; the flower heads in common milkweed are often drooping.

Swamp milkweed tends to have rose pink flowers,

while common milkweed’s flowers are duskier.  And swamp milkweed has much narrower leaves, and the side veins join the midrib at an acute angle; in common milkweed, the side veins join the midrib at an almost ninety-degree angle:

Swamp milkweed is generally a foot or two shorter, not as fragrant, and likes a wetter habitat.  It would be a good plant for a consistently wet area of a garden, and will attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

USDA fact sheet

We interrupt the “Flower of the Day” report to bring you this breaking news! Look what I found:

OK, you’ll have to click on it to enlarge and see what’s in there.  And it doesn’t look like much – a bunch of small brown shoots standing a few inches above the leaf litter.

So what.  Big deal.

It is to me.  I’ve been waiting and waiting to see these in bloom.  Not long now!  Here’s a picture from mid-May:

Each leaf represents a single plant.

Know what it is yet?

Stay tuned…