Asclepias speciosa
 
Showy Milkweed

Flower Side, Petals and Sepals Removed

One Mile West of Melita
16-July-2015

There are are five petaloid lobes above the petals that collectively comprise the corona.  Each hood-shaped lobe contains a horn which arches over the central column.  The sepals and petals have been removed from this flower to reveal the base of a corona lobe.

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Speciosa: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this species. 
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plants hairy or downy; NOT [plants almost hairless]

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leaves opposite; NOT [leaves in whorls]

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leaves oblong or oval; NOT [leaves ovate or lanceolate], NOT [leaves linear]

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leaves rounded or almost cordate at base; NOT [leaves tapered at base]

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flowers purplish or greenish; NOT [flowers rose or red]

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hoods of corona long, three times longer than stamens; NOT [hoods of corona short, not much longer than stamens]

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hoods of corona lanceolate; NOT [hoods of corona blunt]

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corona hoods each with an incurved horn within; NOT [corona hoods without an incurved horn within]

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pods with soft tubercles; NOT [pods lacking tubercles]

 

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Asclepiadaceae: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora leading to this family. 
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herbs; NOT [shrubs or trees]

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plants green or with some chlorophyll; NOT [plants parasitic or saprophytic, without chlorophyll]

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plants with milky juice

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flowers not in heads or spikes; NOT [flowers in long or short spikes], NOT [flowers in heads or in form resembling a head]

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flowers with two floral rings, but with the petals wholly or partly united forming a tube or bell

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corolla regular; NOT [corolla irregular]

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stamens united; NOT [stamens distinct]

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pollens grains united into a mass; NOT [pollen grains separate]

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styles distinct; NOT [styles united]

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ovary superior; NOT [ovary inferior]