A twining milkweed vine with long, narrow, wavy leaves; flowers in umbel-like clusters. When the stems and leaves are damaged, they exude a milky-white sap.
Perennial vine with milky sap; downward curving hairs on stems. Leaves opposite on short stalks, hairy, narrow and triangular with wavy edges. Flowers red, purple, or green in flat-topped clusters of 4 to 10 at the top of short hairy stalks.
Habitat
Found in open dry rocky canyons and often among shrubs in chaparral and pinyon juniper woodlands.
Flower Characteristics
Flowers fringed with white hairs in flat-topped clusters of 4 to 10 at the top of short hairy stalks.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
The narrow green arrowhead-shaped leaves are 1 to 4 inches long and the margins are wavy.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
The long, narrow follicles are 4 to 6 inches long. Follicles open on 1 side only to release its seeds.
Seeds are brown with long, silky, white hairs to help them disperse in the wind.