Clasping MilkweedAsclepias amplexicaulis
Usually a single rounded cluster of 15 to 80 flowers is at the top of the plant, at the end of a naked stem rising up to 12 inches above the top-most leaves. Individual flowers are about 5/8 inch long with 5 pink-tinged green petals pulled back away from the pink to tan-colored 5-parted crown. The tubular hoods in the crown are slightly shorter than the curving horns. Each flower is on a stalk about 1 inch long. Occasionally a second cluster is at the base of the terminal flower stem.
Leaves are 3 to 5 inches long, to 2 inches wide, hairless with a waxy appearance, generally oval with distinctly wavy edges, a whitish to pink midrib, and little or no leaf stalk, typically clasping the stem. The leaf tip is blunt but usually with a tiny sharp point at the apex. 2 to 5 pairs are widely spaced on the smooth green to pinkish stem.
This is a fairly rare milkweed and is protected in some states.