General: Rush Milkweed (Asclepias subulata) is a perennial forb (or subshrub) with tall, upright, leafless stems, milkweed flowers at the stem tips, and large seed pods.

Rush Milkweed is an uncommon component of desert and upland vegetation communities on flats, along washes, and on bajadas in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones.

Around Las Vegas, look for Rush Milkweed south of town along the Colorado River and southward into the Mojave National Preserve.

Family: Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae)

Other Names:

Plant Form: Upright, perennial forb

Height: To about 3 feet.

Stems: Green, narrow, upright, hairless, few branches.

Leaves: Narrowly linear, opposite, ephemeral, sessile.

Flowers: Blooms in spring. Can also bloom in the summer and late fall (last of October) as conditions permit. Inflorescence: terminal umbel. Flower: typical milkweed flower with yellow "petals" and reflexed, green sepals.

Seeds: Fruits hang down when ripe. Capsule contains seeds with long, white plumes of silky hairs that carry the seed on the wind. Seeds form on central rachis.

Habitat: Dry soils on flats, in and along washes, and on bajadas into the lower mountains.

Elevation: To about 2,500 feet

Distribution: California, Nevada, Arizona, and south into Mexico.

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