hemp dogbane plant

Hemp dogbane – Apocynum cannabinum

Apocynum cannabinum L.

Apocynaceae (Dogbane family)

MI Status

Native

Life cycle

Erect, patch-forming perennial.

Leaves

Opposite, narrow oval to egg-shaped, 2 to 5 inches long with smooth margins. The upper leaf surface is usually pale to bluish green and smooth; the lower leaf surface may be sparsely hairy. Leaves are smaller than those of common milkweed and exude a milky sap when damaged.

Stems

Erect, up to 6-foot-tall, slender, hairless, reddish stems are herbaceous and multibranched at the top and semiwoody at the base. Stems exude a milky sap when damaged.

Flowers and fruit

Small, white to greenish white, bell-shaped flowers are found in flat- to round-topped clusters. Fruit are 4- to 8-inch-long, narrow, reddish brown, sickle-shaped
capsules that usually occur in pairs. Pods split open at maturity to release small, spindle-shaped seeds, each with a tuft of long, silky hairs that aid in wind dissemination.

Reproduction

Seeds, creeping roots and rhizomes.

Field shot of hemp dogbane
Field shot of hemp dogbane
Hemp dogbane flower
Hemp dogbane flower
Hemp dogbane fruit
Hemp dogbane fruit
Hemp dogbane plant
Hemp dogbane plant
Hemp dogbane leaf
Hemp dogbane leaf

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