Common Milkweed – FranLaff.com

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Common Name

Common Milkweed

Scientific Name

Asclepias syriaca

More Clues to ID

A familiar weed of lawns, fields, roadsides, and gardens, this plant and its close relatives are the only species eaten by beautiful monarch butterflies.

While its white latex sap and the older foliage are mildly poisonous, young leaves, shoots, flowerbuds, and immature pods are all edible raw or cooked as vegetables.

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Learn about this species:

Wikipedia | Plant of the Week | Bring Back the Monarchs | IL Wildflowers | Growing Milkweed

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Image Credits

Idéalités, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Zsoldos Márton, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Michael Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nucatum amygdalarum, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Asclepias_syriaca_2019_09_21_Kumpula_0126

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Pssst…

Did you know that this and other species are waiting their turns to be added to Fran’s FREE online courses, like the PLANTS course, or the BIRDS course?

A low-growing “trefoil” weed of lawns and disturbed, nitrogen-poor soil, distinguished by its tiny hop-like yellow flower clusters, pointed tips on each leaflet, and the terminal leaflet on a longer stalk or petiole

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