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Velvetleaf Milkweed

Asclepias tomentosa

Found in longleaf pine sandhills, oak scrubs, drier pine flatwoods, coastal dunes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

67
Strong

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Height
Up to about 5 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Evergreen
Fruiting season
June to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Bloom

Bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Spread: no source found yet.

Recorded in 35 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
59BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Asclepias

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist 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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Apocynaceae
Flower color
White
Fruit begins
June
Fruit ends
October

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Florida rankS4
Global rankG4
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources