Flora and Fauna of Illinois

Name: common milkweed Asclepias syriaca

Description: Herbaceous perennial. Leaf: opposite, oblong, rounded, 1-2.6 dm long, 0.4-1.8 dm broad, with prominent veins; upper surface smooth, lower covered with short white hairs

Stem: erect to 2 m tall with short hairs and milky juice.

Flowers: pink to white in large, many-flowered bell-like clusters.

Seed: brown, flat, oval, 6 mm long, 5 mm wide with tuft of silky white hairs.

Pod: grayinsh, hairy, with soft projections

Discussion:

Distribution: Pastures, fields, roadsides, woods, and thickets

Eastern U.S., except Gulf States, north into Canada.

Images:

http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~openkey/teachers/images/flowermilkweed.jpg

Other: Folkremedy for asthma, bronchitis, cancer, catarrh, cough, dropsy, dysentery, dyspepsia, fever, gallstones, gonorrhea, moles, pleurisy, pneumonia, rheumatism, ringworm, scrofula, sores, tumors, ulcers, warts, and wounds (Duke and Wain, 1981; Kloss, 1939; Erichsen-Brown, 1979). This plant is listed as a noxious weed by the U. S. federal government or a state, and may be known by one or more common names in different places

Map:

Copyright:

References: http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_profile.cgi?symbol=ASSY http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Asclepias_syriaca.html

Creator: Georgiean Benson

School URL:

Flora and Fauna of Illinois

OpenKey Project