Desert milkweed is native to northern Baja California, southern California, and Arizona.
It favors dry slopes, roadsides, and washes, at elevations below 5000′ (1.5 km),
in full sun.
Plants: Single, erect, yellow-green stems, to
3½′ (1 m) in height, rarely approaching 6½′ (2 m).
Leaves: Leaves are a pale whitish green color,
sometimes darker green, with prominent white veins. They are opposite, and
vary from hairless to very hairy. Leaves are often curled, with wrinkled edges, and are
lanceolate to ovate.
Flowers: Flowers are cream-colored to yellowish or greenish, forming
roughly spherical umbels about 1½-3½″ (3.8-8.9 cm) in diameter. Each flower has 5 petals,
which open fully and may be bent back (reflexed). Fully opened, the flowers are about
⅜″ (9.5 mm) around. The reproductive parts of the
flower form a second star-shaped structure in the center. Flowers appear from April to July.