E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Apocynum androsaemifolium Linnaeus var. androsaemifolium
spreading dogbane
Apocynaceae (Dogbane family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Apocynum androsaemifolium var. androsaemifolium
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems erect, glabrous or hairy, often reddish, 20-70 cm tall, branching; plants with milky juice.

Leaves:
Stem leaves opposite, spreading and drooping, narrow, oval to elliptic, short-stalked, 3-8 cm long, glabrous above, usually hairy beneath.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of compound, flat-topped clusters; corollas pink or whitish with white veins, sweet scented, 4-10 mm long.

Fruits:
Long cylindric pods, 5-12 cm long, seeds numerous with long tufts of cottony hairs (coma).

Notes:
Two varieties occur in BC:

1. Corollas bell-shaped, 5-10 mm long; pods drooping..................... var. androsaemifolium

1. Corollas more tubular, 4-7 mm long; pods usually erect........................ var. pumilum A. Gray

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Key to the Species and Taxonomic Notes

1. Corollas greenish-white to white, 2-4.5 mm long, usually less than twice as long as the calyces; leaves ascending................. A. cannabinum

1. Corollas pinkish, 3.5-10 mm long, usually more than twice as long as the calyces; leaves spreading to drooping.

2. Calyces usually at least half as long as the corollas, lobes abruptly sharp-pointed to long-pointed ............................x A. floribundum

2. Calyces usually less than half as long as the corollas, lobes obtuse .....................A. androsaemifolium

Habitat / Range

Dry roadsides, fields, meadows and open forests in the lowland to subalpine zones; common throughout BC except the Queen Charlotte Islands and adjacent coast; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to GA, TX, NM and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S5 (2019)	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2026-07-12 7:40:28 AM ]

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