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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