Description

Key Information:

Soil: Mesic (Medium) – Xeric (Dry)
Sun: Full Sun
Height: 2-6 feet
Bloom Color: White – Green
Bloom Season: June – August

Suggested Uses:

Suggested Uses: Grows in fields, open thickets and along shorelines. It is a good restoration plant but can be too aggressive for small gardens.

Pollinators: Bees and moths. Nectar source for adult monarch butterflies!

Native Range: Native throughout much of the U.S. and throughout the state of Minnesota.

Flowers: The flowers are rather tubular with 5 petal-like sepals and no petals.

Leaves: The opposite leaves are about 2-3 inches long and elliptical to oblong. They can be either attached directly to the main flower stem or have short leaf stalks (petioles).

Uses: The most important use of A. cannabinum is as cordage. In the fall, the plants are harvested and split open to reveal long fibers. These strong fibers can be twisted into cordage and used in clothing, baskets, bags and fishing nets. To learn about the Lakota uses of napéoilekiyapi, read more from Linda Black Elk here.

More Info: Can become weedy. Apocynum species can hybridize.

Other Names: Dogbane, milkweed, honeybloom, bitter root, black hemp, hemp dogbane, lechuguilla, westernwall.

More information: USDA PLANT profile