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Common Milkweed

Asclepias syriaca

Summary 2

Asclepias syriaca, commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant. It is in the genus Asclepias, the milkweeds. This species is native to southern Canada and of much of the conterminous eastern U.S., east of the Rocky Mountains, excluding the drier parts of the prairies. It grows in sandy soils and other kinds of soils in sunny areas.

Description 3

Family:
Apocynaceae (Dogbane)

Height:
2 to 5 feet

Leaves:
Large, light green, and oval with smooth edges, 4-6 inches long

Flower:
Pink flowers consisting of 5 downward and 5 upward pointed petals in a large round cluster from leaf axil.

Bloom time:
June-August

Nicknames:
Silkweed, Milkplant

Habitat:
Shorelines, woodland edges, fields

Wildlife Benefits:
Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed plants.

Can I plant this in my garden?
Common milkweed tolerates many conditions, including sun to part shade, wet and dry sites. While the plant can be grown, it often introduces itself to home gardens via seeds that are wind-dispersed.

References:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/common-milkweed

Range 3

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, all rights reserved, uploaded by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District
  2. Adapted by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_syriaca
  3. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

iNat Map

Family Apocynaceae
Habit Forb
Origin native
Life cycle perennial
Flower pink
Bloom time (6) June, (7) July, (8) August
*sites Gervais Mill Pond, Lake Phalen, Snail Lake
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