# Southern Milkweed (Asclepias viridula)

> A rare wet-savanna milkweed of the Florida panhandle and south Georgia, with narrow leaves and small greenish-white flowers, tracked as threatened across its small range.

Source: https://milkweedusa.com/species/southern-milkweed/  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Milkweed USA)

## Summary

A rare wet-savanna milkweed of the Florida panhandle and south Georgia, with narrow leaves and small greenish-white flowers, tracked as threatened across its small range.

## Key facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Asclepias viridula Chapm. |
| Genus | Asclepias |
| Family | Apocynaceae |
| Common names | Southern Milkweed |
| Status | Native; rare or legally protected in part of its range |
| Height | 1 ft–2.5 ft |
| Spread | 8 in–1.2 ft |
| Flower color | green, white |
| Bloom period | May to August |
| Light | Full sun |
| Soil moisture | Wet |
| USDA zones | 8-9 |
| Leaf arrangement | opposite |
| Leaf shape | narrow |
| Sap | Milky latex |
| Root system | Fibrous, clump-forming and easy to move |
| Seed stratification | 30 days cold-moist |
| Monarch value (0-5) | 2 |
| Garden value (0-5) | 1 |
| Nectar value (0-5) | 2 |
| US states recorded | Florida, Georgia |

## Identification

- Slender upright stems in permanently damp pine savanna and bog edges.
- Small greenish-white flowers in sparse clusters.
- Restricted to the eastern Gulf coastal plain.

## Ecology

Dependent on frequently burned wet savanna, a habitat reduced to fragments across the Gulf coastal plain.

## Growing

Rare and state-tracked. Do not collect from the wild.

## Cautions

Rare and legally tracked in Florida and Georgia.

## References

- Plants of the World Online: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:94738-1
- GBIF: https://www.gbif.org/species/3170279
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/158764
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_viridula
- BONAP county map: https://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Asclepias%20viridula.png
- NatureServe: https://explorer.natureserve.org/Search?searchTerm=Asclepias%20viridula

## Photographs

- Southern Milkweed photographed in Florida, US (Leyla, CC BY 4.0): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/365210896
- Southern Milkweed photographed in Florida, US (Public domain (CC0), CC0): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/311335349
- Southern Milkweed photographed in Bristol, FL 32321, USA (Scott Allen Davis, CC BY 4.0): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/213068543
- Southern Milkweed photographed in Florida, US (Athena Philips, CC BY 4.0): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/214451799
- Southern Milkweed photographed in Franklin County, FL, USA (Laura Gaudette, CC BY 4.0): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63669107
- Southern Milkweed photographed in Florida, US (Matt Berger, CC BY 4.0): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/92318852
- Southern Milkweed photographed in Florida, US (Scott Ward, CC BY 4.0): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/77807036

## How to cite

Milkweed USA. (2026). Southern Milkweed (Asclepias viridula). https://milkweedusa.com/species/southern-milkweed/