Cynanchum laeve

Cynanchum laeve
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Genus: Cynanchum
Species: C. laeve
Binomial name
Cynanchum laeve
(Michx.) Pers.
Synonyms

Ampelamus albidus
Gonolobus laevis

Cynanchum laeve'[1]

Cynanchum laeve is a vining perennial herb native to eastern and central U.S. states and Ontario. Common names include honeyvine, honeyvine milkweed, bluevine milkweed, climbing milkweed, and smooth swallow-wort.

Like bindweed and some other members of the Convolvulaceae, Cynanchum laeve is a twining vine with heart-shaped leaves common in roadsides, fence rows, fields, and disturbed areas. However, C. laeve is easily recognized as a member of the Milkweed family by its opposite leave placement, milky sap and distinctive flowers and "milkweed pods." The seeds are wind dispersed and can travel long distances.[2]

Cynanchum laeve is considered a noxious weed in several states,[3] and can be very difficult to eradicate from fields because of its deep, extensive root system.[4] Like many other milkweed species, C. laeve contains toxic cardenolide alkaloids,[5] and is a food plant for the caterpillars of Monarch butterflies.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1913 illustration from Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 3: 36
  2. ↑ Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses: Honeyvine Milkweed
  3. ↑ USDA, NRCS. 2011. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CYLA, 19 June 2011). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
  4. ↑ Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses: Honeyvine Milkweed
  5. ↑ Burrows, G. E.; Tyrl, R. J., 2001. "Toxic plants of North America." Iowa State Univ Press, Ames. As referenced in the FDA Poisonous Plant Database
  6. ↑ Kansas Native Plants: Butterfly Gardening