wildflower
Common milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
CautionEdible cookedcommon
Thick opposite leaves, pink flower balls, milky sap. Monarch host. Young shoots and pods are traditional food if boiled.
Unbranched stems with broad opposite leaves. Flower clusters are dusty rose and heavily fragrant. Seed pods are warty and full of silk.
- Habitat
- Fields, roadsides, garden edges.
- Season
- June–August bloom.
- Size
- 3–5 ft
- Field marks
- Milky sap; opposite leaves; warty pods
Use
Young shoots, unopened buds, and small pods boiled in two waters. Silk for tinder. Critical monarch plant — leave most of the patch. Dogbane looks similar and is more toxic — milkweed sap is milky and the pods are warty.