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Family: Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae)
Height: 2 - 6' (60 -180 cm)
Flower Size: 1/2" (1.3 cm)
Flowering Season: June - August
Ecological Preferences: Dry soil
Select Characteristics: Typically
drooping flower head. Broken stems or leaves exude a thick,
sticky, milky juice. The seedpods have a distinct warty
structure.
Historical Significance: Parts of
many species of Asclepias were used by various
Native American tribes for food and medicine. The flowers,
buds and young pods have been eaten. Members of the genus Asclepias
contain a compound used to treat some heart disease. That
same compound ingested by Monarch butterfly larvae causes
Monarchs to be toxic to predators. The plumes of the seed
heads were used as a replacement for Kapok in life
preservers during WWII.
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