# Carolina Milkweed (Asclepias cinerea)

> A wiry, thread-leaved coastal plain milkweed carrying a few widely spaced, unusually elegant ash-mauve flowers that seem to hover in mid-air on hair-fine stalks.

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

## Summary

A wiry, thread-leaved coastal plain milkweed carrying a few widely spaced, unusually elegant ash-mauve flowers that seem to hover in mid-air on hair-fine stalks.

## Key facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Asclepias cinerea Walter |
| Genus | Asclepias |
| Family | Apocynaceae |
| Common names | Carolina Milkweed, Ash-colored Milkweed |
| Status | Native |
| Height | 1 ft–2.5 ft |
| Spread | 8 in–1.3 ft |
| Flower color | mauve, gray |
| Bloom period | May to August |
| Light | Full sun |
| Soil moisture | Dry |
| USDA zones | 8-9 |
| Leaf arrangement | opposite |
| Leaf shape | threadlike |
| Sap | Milky latex |
| Root system | Deep taproot, resents transplanting |
| Seed stratification | 30 days cold-moist |
| Monarch value (0-5) | 2 |
| Garden value (0-5) | 3 |
| Nectar value (0-5) | 2 |
| US states recorded | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina |

## Identification

- Very fine, almost invisible flower stalks, so the blooms appear to float.
- Flowers pale gray-lavender, sparse, in small open clusters.
- Thread-like opposite leaves on a slender stem in dry sandy pineland.

## Ecology

A fire-maintained sandhill species of the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida panhandle.

## Growing

Rare in cultivation; requires sand, sun and lean soil.

## Cautions

Standard milkweed cautions.

## References

- Plants of the World Online: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:94162-1
- GBIF: https://www.gbif.org/species/3170337
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/158734
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_cinerea
- BONAP county map: https://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Asclepias%20cinerea.png
- NatureServe: https://explorer.natureserve.org/Search?searchTerm=Asclepias%20cinerea

## Photographs

- Asclepias cinerea by Siddarth Machado (Siddarth Machado, CC BY 4.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_cinerea_by_Siddarth_Machado.jpg
- Asclepias cinerea 81678256 (Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_cinerea_81678256.jpg
- Asclepias cinerea 81675172 (Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_cinerea_81675172.jpg
- Asclepias cinerea 81675244 (Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_cinerea_81675244.jpg
- Asclepias cinerea 81675303 (Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_cinerea_81675303.jpg
- Asclepias cinerea 81675464 (Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_cinerea_81675464.jpg
- "Carolina milkweed habitat" by Scott Allen Davis (Scott Allen Davis, CC BY 4.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Carolina_milkweed_habitat%22_by_Scott_Allen_Davis.jpg
- Carolina milkweed leaves by Scott Allen Davis (Scott Allen Davis, CC BY 4.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carolina_milkweed_leaves_by_Scott_Allen_Davis.jpg

## How to cite

Milkweed USA. (2026). Carolina Milkweed (Asclepias cinerea). https://milkweedusa.com/species/carolina-milkweed/