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Asclepias syriaca
| Common name: |
Common Milkweed |
Family: |
Asclepiadaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
43, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Asclepias cornuttii (Decne.) |
| Known Hazards: |
Although no specific reports have been seen for this species, many, if not all, members of this genus contain toxic resinoids, alkaloids and cardiac glycosides[274]. They are usually avoided by grazing animals[274].
The older leaves are poisonous if eaten in large quantities[20, 21]. The plant contains cardioactive compounds and is potentially toxic[222]. |
| Range: |
Eastern N. America - New Brunswick to Saskatchewan, south to N. Carolina, Kansas and Georgia. |
| Habitat: |
Thickets, roadsides, dry fields and waste places[21, 43]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
5 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| A. cornutii[H]
A. intermedia[B,P]
A. kansana[B,P]
A. syriaca var. kansana[B,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Common Milkweed [H,P,B,L], Ipek Fidani [E], Milkweed [E], Milkweed, Common [S], Silkweed [L], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
syriaca = from Syria;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Gentianales. Milkweed family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Turkey; Us; Us(Appalachia); Us(Pamunkey); Us(Rappahannock)
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA
PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Minnesota. |
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 1m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, insects and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies).
It is noted for attracting wildlife.
We rate it 5/5 for edibility and
2/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires dry or moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Flowers; Gum; Leaves; Oil; Seed; Seedpod; Sweetener.
Unopened flower buds - cooked. They taste somewhat like peas. They are
used like broccoli[183].
Flowers and young flower buds - cooked. They have a mucilaginous texture and
a pleasant flavour, they can be used as a flavouring and a thickener in soups
etc[55, 102, 257].
The flower clusters can be boiled down to make a sugary syrup[2, 85]. The
flowers are harvested in the early morning with the dew still on them[95].
When boiled up they make a brown sugar[95].
Young shoots - cooked. An asparagus substitute[2, 4, 43, 55, 62, 95, 183].
They should be used when less than 20cm tall[159]. A slightly bitter
taste[159].
Tips of older shoots are cooked like spinach[85, 183].
Young seed pods, 3 - 4 cm long, cooked[2, 43, 55, 85]. They are very
appetizing. Best used when about 2 - 4cm long and before the seed floss
forms, on older pods remove any seed floss before cooking them[85, 159]. If
picked at the right time, the pods resemble okra[183].
The sprouted seeds can be eaten[183].
An edible oil is obtained from the seed[55, 171].
The latex in the stems is a suitable replacement for chicle and can be made
into a chewing gum[46, 61, 269]. It is not really suitable for use in
tyres[269]. The latex is found mainly in the leaves and is destroyed by
frost[112]. Yields are higher on dry soils[112].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Anodyne; Contraceptive; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Emetic; Expectorant; Homeopathy; Purgative; Warts.
The root is anodyne, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, expectorant and
purgative[4, 21, 222]. It has been used in the treatment of asthma, kidney
stones, venereal disease etc[254, 257]. Caution is advised, see the notes
above on toxicity.
An infusion of the pounded roots has been used by the women of some native
North American Indian tribes to promote temporary sterility[213, 257].
The leaves and/or the latex are used in folk remedies for treating cancer
and tumours[269]. The milky latex from the stems and leaves is used in the
treatment of warts[4, 159, 222, 257]. The latex needs to be applied at least
daily over a period of up to a few weeks to be effective.
The stems can be cooked and applied as a poultice on rheumatic joints[257].
One reported Mohawk antifertility concoction contained milkweed and
jack-in-the-pulpit, both considered contraceptive. Dried and pulverized, a
fistful of milkweed and three Arisaema rhizomes were infused in a pint of
water for 20 minutes. The infusion was drunk, a cupful an hour, to induce
temporary sterility[269].
The rhizome is used in homeopathy as an antioedemic and emmenagogue in the
treatment of dropsy and dysmenorrhoea[269].
Other Uses
Adhesive; Fibre; Latex; Oil; Pollution; Stuffing; Wick.
A good quality fibre is obtained from the inner bark of the stems. It
is long and quite strong, but brittle[269]. It can be used in making twine,
cloth, paper etc[95, 112, 169]. The fibre is of poor quality in wet
seasons[112]. It is easily harvested in late autumn after the plant has died
down by simply pulling the fibres off the dried stems[169]. It is estimated
that yields of 1,356 kilos per hectare could be obtained from wild
plants[269].
The seed floss is used to stuff pillows etc or is mixed with other fibres to
make cloth[112, 159, 169, 171]. It is a Kapok substitute, used in Life
Jackets or as a stuffing material[112]. Very water repellent, it can yield up
to 550 kilos per hectare[112]. The floss absorbs oil whilst repelling water
and so has also been used to mop up oil spills at sea. Candlewicks can be
made from the seed floss[112, 207]. In cultivation, only 1 - 3% of the
flowers produce mature pods[269]. It is estimated that yields of 1,368 kilos
per hectare could be obtained from wild plants[269].
Rubber can be made from latex contained in the leaves and the stems[46, 57,
102, 159]. It is found mainly in the leaves and is destroyed by frost[112].
Yields of 197 kilos per hectare can be expected from wild plants, it is
estimated that by selection these yields could be increased to 897
kilos[269]. Yields are higher on dry soils[112]. The latex can also be used
as a glue for fixing precious stones into necklaces, earrings etc[257]. The
latex contains 0.1 - 1.5% caoutchouc, 16 - 17% dry matter, and 1.23% ash. It
also contains the digitalis-like mixture of a- and b-asclepiadin, the
antitumor b-sitosterol, and a- and b-amyrin and its acetate, dextrose and
wax[269].
Pods contain an oil and a wax which are of potential importance.
The seed contains up to 20% of an edible semi-drying oil[74, 112]. It is
also used in making liquid soap[74].
Cultivation details
Succeeds in any good soil[187]. Prefers a well-drained light rich or
peaty soil[1, 200]. Requires a moist peaty soil and a sunny position[111,
134].
Plants are hardy to about -25°c[187].
A very ornamental plant[1], though it can be invasive by means of its
spreading root system[200]. The flowers diffuse a delicious scent into the
garden. This scent attracts bees, who obtain copious supplies of nectar from
the plants[50, 74, K], though unfortunately the plants do not always flower
in Britain[K]. The flower of many members of this genus can trap insects
between its anther cells, the struggles of the insect in escaping ensure the
pollination of the plant[207].
This plant has a very wide range of uses and merits attention as a food,
fibre and rubber crop[K]. It was possibly cultivated at one time by the North
American Indians for its many uses[159]. It is considered by some to be the
greatest underachiever among plants. Its potential appears great, yet until
now it has never been continuously processed for commercial purposes[269].
Many members of this genus seem to be particularly prone to damage by slugs.
The young growth in spring is especially vulnerable, but older growth is also
attacked and even well-established plants have been destroyed in wet
years[K].
Plants resent root disturbance and are best planted into their final
positions whilst small[134].
Propagation
Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the autumn or
in late winter[134, 169]. We have also had good results from sowing the seed
in the greenhouse in early spring[K], though stored seed might need 2 - 3
weeks cold stratification[134]. Germination usually takes place in 1 - 3
months at 18°c[134]. As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle,
prick them out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for
their first winter. Plant out when they are in active growth in late spring
or early summer and give them some protection from slugs until they are
growing away strongly.
Division in spring. With great care since the plant resents root
disturbance. Pot the divisions up and place them in a lightly shaded position
in the greenhouse until they are growing away strongly, then plant them out
in the summer, giving them some protection from slugs until they are
established..
Basal cuttings in late spring. Use shoots about 10cm long with as much of
their white underground stem as possible. Pot them up individually and place
them in a lightly shaded position in a greenhouse until they are rooting and
growing actively. If the plants grow sufficiently, they can be put into their
permanent positions in the summer, otherwise keep them in the greenhouse
until the following spring and when they are in active growth plant them out
into their permanent positions. Give them some protection from slugs until
they are established.
Scent
-
Flowers: Fresh
- The flowers diffuse a delicious scent into the garden.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
PFAF Web Pages
This plant is mentioned in the following web pages
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HEC] Use, Folk Medicine, etc. from Handbook of Energy Crops by James Duke
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Asclepias cornutii (a possible synonym).
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
References for asclepias syriaca (a possible synonym).
References for the family Asclepiadaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
[55] Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973
Interesting reading.
[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.
[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.
[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.
[95] Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications 1976 ISBN 0-486-23310-3
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.
[102] Kavasch. B. Native Harvests. Vintage Books 1979 ISBN 0-394-72811-4
Another guide to the wild foods of America.
[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
[112] Whiting. A. G. A Summary of the Literature on Milkweeds (Asclepias spp) and their utilization.
A technical paper covering the many uses of the genus Asclepias.
[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.
[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.
[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.
Readers Comments
The Milkweeds
Sheila Chmuhalek
(schmuhal@granite.mb.ca)
Sat 27 Sept 1997
I found your web site while I was searching for information on milkweed,
and the milkweeds page showed up.
I am a professor of textiles at the University of Manitoba in Canada.
Congratulations on having such an interesting site. I'll be back.
Has your group thought about plants as dyes? I found the page on fibre
but
was surprised that dyes weren't mentioned.
If anyone's interested, Milkweed is a terrific dye source, as well.
Cross references:
Genera:
Asclepias.
Web-pages:
The Milkweeds.
The Milkweeds
David Raymond
(draymond@cats.ucsc.edu)
Wed May 30 00:17:57 2001
I ran across an article on commercial trials of milkweed as a kapok -fluff-producer in the US. I will try to track it down for you. The US military, or agriculture department, initially looked at milkweed as a source for a petroleum substitute in the event of war. As you note, it is not very productive in that respect. So there is now research on the use of the fluff, which is as warm as down but does not mat down when it gets wet. Keep up the good work.
David Raymond
Cross references:
Genera:
Asclepias.
Web-pages:
The Milkweeds.
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Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Asclepias+syriaca
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Asclepias+syriaca
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