Quercus

Swamp Milkweed

Asclepias incarnata

Native to Kentucky (estimated)

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY

Genus host records with ranges including KY · Asclepias

  • Danaus plexippusMonarch
  • Cycnia collarisUnexpected Cycnia
  • Cycnia teneraDelicate Cycnia, Dogbane Tiger Moth
  • Euchaetes egleMilkweed Tussock Moth or Milkweed Tiger Moth
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
  • Pygarctia spragueiSprague's Pygarctia Moth
  • Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
Show all 13
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
  • Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
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)
Beetles 2
  • Acmaeodera pulchella
  • Trichius piger

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Flies 10
  • Cistogaster occidua
  • Conops xanthopareus
  • Ennyomma globosa
  • Opsidia gonioides
  • Panzeria radicum
  • Phasioclista metallica
  • Physocephala tibialis
  • Scepsis fulvicollis
  • Spallanzania hesperidarum
  • Stratiomyia meigenii

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 10
  • Achalarus lycidas
  • Anosia plexippus
  • Argynnis cybele
  • Euphyes verna
  • Limochores taumas
  • Papilio asterias
  • Pholisora catullus
  • Phyciodes tharos
  • Speyeria idalia
  • Vanessa atalanta

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 23
  • Ageniella accepta
  • Ammobia ichneumonea
  • Ammobia nuda
  • Ammobia pennsylvanica
  • Bembix nubillipennis
  • Bembix spinolae
  • Cerceris clypeata
  • Cerceris fumipennis
  • Eumenes fraternus
  • Isodontia apicalis
Show all 23
  • Isodontia macrocephala
  • Leionotus arvensis
  • Polistes pallipes
  • Polistes rubiginosus
  • Polistes variatus
  • Priononyx atrata
  • Priononyx thomae
  • Pseudoplisus phaleratus
  • Tachytes distinctus
  • Tachytes mandibularis
  • Tachytes pepticus
  • Vespula maculata
  • Vespula vidua

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other insects 1
  • Lygaeus turcicus

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Apocynaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
Pink or white
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Spring
Fruit ends
Fall

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Swamp Milkweed

Conservation status

Kentucky rankNot available
Global rankG5
KY statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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