Pallid Milkweed
Asclepias cryptoceras S. Watson
A jewel of the Great Basin: a low sprawling rosette of round, waxy, blue-green leaves surrounding cream flowers with vivid rose-pink hoods, blooming in spring on barren clay and shale slopes where nothing else grows.
Also called Jewelled Milkweed, Humboldt Mountain Milkweed.
- Height
- 4 in–1 ft
- Spread
- 1 ft–2 ft
- Flowers
- cream, pink
- Bloom
- April to June
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry
- USDA zones
- 4–8
- Leaves
- Opposite, orbicular
- Sap
- Milky latex
- Roots
- Deep taproot, resents transplanting
- Stratification
- 60 days cold-moist
- Range
- 10 states
When it flowers
Pallid Milkweed blooms April to June, peaking in May.
How to identify it
- Prostrate habit: the plant lies flat on the ground in a neat circle.
- Leaves nearly circular, thick, smooth and glaucous blue-green.
- Flowers cream with startlingly pink or purple hoods, unlike any other milkweed.
Ecology and wildlife value
A specialist of harsh desert substrates. Little used by monarchs because it goes dormant by early summer, but botanically one of the most remarkable plants in the genus.
Growing pallid milkweed
For experienced rock gardeners only. Needs a mineral, unwatered, perfectly drained site and a long cold stratification.
Seed needs about 60 days of cold-moist stratification. Deep taproot, resents transplanting. See how to plant milkweed seed for the full method.
Cautions
Standard milkweed cautions. More on milkweed toxicity.
Where pallid milkweed grows
Recorded in 10 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
Distribution is generalized to state level. For county-level maps see USDA PLANTS and BONAP.
References and further reading
Names, ranges and conservation status here are drawn from the databases below. Where those disagree with a regional flora, trust the flora.
- Plants of the World Online 94206-1. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Accepted name, authorship and global distribution.
- GBIF 3170263. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Aggregated occurrence records.
- iNaturalist 62297. Community observations, photographs and phenology.
- Wikipedia. General-audience article on this species.
- BONAP county distribution map. Biota of North America Program. County-level range map.
- NatureServe Explorer. Conservation status ranks at global and state level.
- World Flora Online. Nomenclature and synonymy.
- Woodson, R. E. (1954). The North American species of Asclepias L.. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 41(1): 1–211. The monograph the modern taxonomy of the genus still rests on. View
- Flora of North America Editorial Committee (eds.) (2026). Flora of North America North of Mexico. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford. Accepted names, keys and descriptions for the North American flora. View
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2026). Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Nomenclature and global distribution, keyed to IPNI name identifiers. View
- Kartesz, J. T. (Biota of North America Program) (2026). North American Plant Atlas. BONAP, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. County-level distribution maps, the basis for the ranges generalized here. View
- USDA, NRCS (2026). The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, North Carolina. State-level distribution, wetland status and nomenclature. View
- Agrawal, A. A. (2017). Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution. Princeton University Press. The standard general account of the milkweed and monarch relationship. View
Cite this page
This page is licensed CC BY 4.0. Quote it, adapt it and reuse it, including commercially, as long as you credit Milkweed USA and link back.
Milkweed USA. (2026). Pallid Milkweed (Asclepias cryptoceras). Retrieved DATE, from https://milkweedusa.com/species/pallid-milkweed/
"Pallid Milkweed (Asclepias cryptoceras)." Milkweed USA, 2026, https://milkweedusa.com/species/pallid-milkweed/. Accessed DATE.
Milkweed USA. "Pallid Milkweed (Asclepias cryptoceras)." Last modified 2026-08-01. Accessed DATE. https://milkweedusa.com/species/pallid-milkweed/.
@misc{milkweedusa_speciespallidmilkweed,
title = {Pallid Milkweed (Asclepias cryptoceras)},
author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://milkweedusa.com/species/pallid-milkweed/},
note = {Accessed DATE}
}