Asclepias purpurascens
Species of flowering plant
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Related on Lably
Through Massachusetts and Insect
Conservation status in the United States
It is listed endangered in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, officially as historical to Rhode Island (though with two recently discovered yet meager populations), as imperiled in Maryland and as a special concern species in Connecticut and Tennessee.
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Uses
Like other members of the milkweeds, several insects live off the plant, including the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), the milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetraophtalmus), large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus), small milkweed bug (Lygaeus kalmii) and milkweed leaf beetle (Labidomera clivicollis). Other insects and pollinators feed off the flower's nectar.
This species is sometimes cultivated in gardens designed to attract butterflies, but is less common than the light purple swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) or the orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa). The nectar of the plant attracts many other species of butterflies and insects.