Ontario Weeds: Spreading
dogbane
Table of Contents
- Name
- Other Names
- Family
- General Description
- Stems and Roots
- Leaves
- Flowers and Fruit
- Habitat
- Similar Species
- For more information...
Name: Spreading dogbane, Apocynum
androsaemifolium L.,
Other Names: apocyn à feuilles
d'androseme, Indian hemp, fausse herbe à la puce
Family: Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae)
General Description: Perennial, reproducing
by seed and by spreading underground rhizomes.
Photos and Pictures
Spreading dogbane (left - top of a flowering
plant; right - maturing plant showing pencil-shaped seedpods).
Spreading dogbane. A.
Upper part of flowering plant. B. Cluster of seedpods.
Stems & Roots: Stems
erect or leaning, occasionally unbranched but usually repeatedly
branched in the upper part, 20-75cm (8-30in.) high, slender, smooth,
often reddish.
Leaves: Leaves opposite (2 per node),
oblong to ovate, often drooping, on short stalks; upper surface
bright to dark green, undersurface lighter green to whitish-green
and finely hairy at least along the mid-vein, young leaves at ends
of branches distinctly whitish.
Flowers & Fruit: Flowers in branched
clusters at ends of stems and small branches; calyx lobes short
and triangular; corolla whitish to pinkish, bell-shaped, 6-10mm
(¼-2/5in.) long; seedpods usually in pairs, 7-20cm (3-10in.)
long, thin, pencil-like but more tapered towards the tip, straight
or slightly curved, splitting lengthwise with a single slit to release
the small, slender seeds, each with a long, white, silky parachute.
All parts of the plant contain milky juice. Flowers from June to
August.
Habitat: Spreading dogbane is a native
plant that occurs throughout Ontario in pastures, edges of woodlands,
waste areas, fields and roadsides, usually in dry areas or on shallow
soils.
Similar Species: It is distinguished
by its slender somewhat fleshy appearance, its leaves opposite,
short-stalked, often drooping, undersurface slightly hairy and lighter
green, the younger ones whitish-green, its clusters of pinkish flowers
usually 6mm (¼in.) or longer, its pencil-like seedpods, and
milky juice.
For more information...
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA
Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA
Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control
...on weeds in field crops, contact Mike Cowbrough (mike.cowbrough@ontario.ca),
Weed Management Specialist (Field Crops), OMAFRA, Guelph
...on weeds in horticultural crops, contact Kristen Callow (kristen.callow@ontario.ca),
Weed Management Specialist (Hort Crops), OMAFRA. Harrow
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