Table 2. Defensive characteristics of native wild-type milkweeds and cultivars.
| Latex (mg exuded)a | Trichomes per 28 mm2 | Cardenolides (μ g/g) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. incarnata | |||
| Wild Type | 1.4 ± 0.2 | 97 ± 13 | 4.6 ± 1.8 |
| ‘Cinderella’ | 3.4 ± 0.8* | 93 ± 14 | 4.9 ± 2.8 |
| ‘Ice Ballet’ | 1.1 ± 0.2 | 131 ± 13* | 18.5 ± 6.3* |
| ‘Soulmate’ | 1.1 ± 0.2 | 92 ± 14 | 12.2 ± 3.4 |
| F3,35 = 11.2 | F3,67 = 3.1 | F3,15 = 2.3 | |
| P <0.001 | P = 0.03 | P = 0.01 | |
| A. tuberosa | |||
| Wild Type | 0.7 ± 0.2 | 212 ± 17 | 392 ± 93 |
| ‘Blonde Bombshell’ | – | – | 489 ± 148 |
| ‘Gay Butterflies’ | 2.1 ± 0.4* | 202 ± 27 | 684 ± 535 |
| ‘Hello Yellow’ | 2.3 ± 0.3* | 153 ± 21 | 498 ± 296 |
| F2,31 = 14.4 | F2,64 = 2.6 | F3,14 = 0.25 | |
| P < 0.001 | P = 0.08 | P = 0.86 |
Notes.
Data are means ± SE for each milkweed type.
a
amount exuded from cut leaves (n = 24 per plant type, 4 per garden).
*
denotes significant within-species difference from straight species by 2-tailed Dunnett’s test (P <0.05).