Asclepias syriaca

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Asclepias syriaca
Conservation status

Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Asclepiadaceae
Genus: Asclepias
Species: A. syriaca
Binomial name
Asclepias syriaca





The plant's latex contains large quantities of glycosides, making the leaves and seed pods toxic to sheep and other large mammals, and potentially humans (though large quantities of the foul-tasting parts would need to be eaten). The young shoots, young leaves, flower buds and immature fruits are all edible raw.

Concerns about milkweed bitterness and toxicity can be traced back to Euell Gibbons, author of Stalking the Wild Asparagus (1962). It is theorized that Gibbons inadvertently prepared dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), a poisonous look-alike instead. He devised a method to remove the bitterness and toxicity by plunging the young shoots into boiling water (not cold) and cooking for one minute, repeating the procedure at least three times to make the plant safe to eat. Gibbons' method was copied from book to book, dominating edible plants literature for forty years. Most modern foragers consider the bitterness/toxicity issue a myth. The plants have no bitterness when tasted raw, and can be cooked like asparagus, with no special processing.[1]

Failed attempts have been made to exploit rubber (from the latex) and fiber (from the seed's floss) production from the plant industrially. The fluffy seed hairs have been used as the traditional background for mounted butterflies. The compressed floss has a beautiful silk-like sheen. The plant has also been explored for commercial use of its bast (inner bark) fiber which is both strong and soft. U. S. Department of Agriculture studies in the 1890s and 1940s found that Milkweed has more potential for commercial processing than any other indigenous bast fiber plant, with estimated yields as high as hemp and quality as good as flax. Both the bast fiber and the floss were used historically by Native Americans for cordage and textiles. Milkweed oil from the seeds can be easily converted into cinnamic acid, which is a very potent sunscreen when used at a 1-5% concentration.

Many insects live on the plant, including the milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetraophtalmus), the large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus), the small milkweed bug (Lygaeus kalmii), the milkweed leaf beetle (Labidomera clivicollis), the weevil species Rhyssomatus lineaticollis, and the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). The larva of the Monarch butterfly specializes on milkweeds, and its populations are affected when milkweeds are eliminated from cropland with pesticides.

Deforestation due to European settlement may have expanded the range and density of milkweed. The plant can become invasive and often acts as a weed. It is naturalized in several areas outside of its native range, including Oregon and parts of Europe.



  1. ^ Thayer, S. (2006). The Forager's Harvest. Forager's Harvest. pp. 290–305. ISBN 0-9766266-0-8. 


  • Asclepias syriaca. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
  • Lamoureux, G., et al. (1978). Plantes sauvages des villes et des champs. Fleurbec/Éditeur officiel du Québec. ISBN 2-920174-00-2. 
  • Lamoureux, G., et al. (1981). Plantes sauvages comestibles. Fleurbec. ISBN 2-920174-03-7. 
  • Buchanan, R. (1987). A Weaver's Garden. Interweave Press, Inc. ISBN 0-934026-28-9. 

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