Scarlet Milkweed
Asclepias curassavica
Found in ditches, disturbed areas; often cultivated, naturalizing (southwards in our region) and persistent as short-lived strays (northwards). FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 2–3 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Do not plant. Listed invasive in Florida.
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual or perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- January to December
Recorded in 38 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
15CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Asclepias
- Danaus plexippusMonarch
- Agathodes monstralisSky-Pointing Moth
- Cycnia collarisUnexpected Cycnia
- Cycnia teneraDelicate Cycnia, Dogbane Tiger Moth
- Danaus eresimusSoldier, Tropical Queen
- Danaus gilippusQueen
- Euchaetes egleMilkweed Tussock Moth or Milkweed Tiger Moth
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
- Pygarctia spragueiSprague's Pygarctia Moth
Show all 15
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
- Pygarctia eglenensis
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Asclepias
- Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Plant details
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 8a–11b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow, orange or red
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “January to December” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow, orange or red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 8a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual or perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- Florida Invasive Species Council list
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications