"Milkweed" redirects here. For other uses, see Milkweed (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Asclepius.
Asclepias
Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) flowers and a monarch butterfly
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Clade:
Tracheophytes
Clade:
Angiosperms
Clade:
Eudicots
Clade:
Asterids
Order:
Gentianales
Family:
Apocynaceae
Subfamily:
Asclepiadoideae
Tribe:
Asclepiadeae
Subtribe:
Asclepiadinae
Genus:
Asclepias L.[1]
Type species
Asclepias syriaca
L.
Species[2]
See List of Asclepias species
Synonyms[3]
List
Acerates Elliott
Acerotis Raf.
Acerates Stopp
Anantherix Nutt.
Anthanotis Raf.
Asclepiodella Small
Asclepiodora A.Gray
Biventraria Small
Crassa Ruppius
Dassovia Neck.
Odontostelma Rendle
Oligoron Raf.
Onistis Raf.
Otanema Raf.
Otaria Kunth
Oxypteryx Greene
Podostemma Greene
Podostigma Elliott
Polyotus Nutt.
Schizonotus A.Gray
Solanoa Greene
Solanoana Kuntze
Stylandra Nutt.
Trachycalymma (K.Schum.) Bullock
Asclepias is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged.[4][5][6] Most species are toxic to humans and many other species, primarily due to the presence of cardenolides. However, as with many such plants, some species feed upon them (e.g. their leaves) or from them (e.g. their nectar). The most notable of them is the monarch butterfly, which uses and requires certain milkweeds as host plants for their larvae.
The genus contains over 200 species distributed broadly across Africa, North America, and South America.[7] It previously belonged to the family Asclepiadaceae, which is now classified as the subfamily Asclepiadoideae of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae.
The genus was formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753,[8] who named it after Asclepius, the Greek god of healing.[9]
^"Taxon: Asclepias L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2003-03-13. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
^"Asclepias". NCBI taxonomy. Bethesda, MD: National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
^"Asclepias L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
^Singh, B.; Rastogi, R. P. (1970). "Cardenolides-glycosides and genins". Phytochemistry. 9 (2): 315–331. Bibcode:1970PChem...9..315S. doi:10.1016/s0031-9422(00)85141-9.
^Agrawal, Anurag (2017-03-07). Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400884766.
^Agrawal, Anurag A.; Petschenka, Georg; Bingham, Robin A.; Weber, Marjorie G.; Rasmann, Sergio (2012-04-01). "Toxic cardenolides: chemical ecology and coevolution of specialized plant–herbivore interactions". New Phytologist. 194 (1): 28–45. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.04049.x. ISSN 1469-8137. PMID 22292897.
^"Asclepias L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
^"Asclepias". ipni.org. International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
^Quattrocchi, Umberto (29 November 1999). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. CRC Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-8493-2673-8. Latin asclepias and Greek asklepias for the common swallowwort; Asclepius, Greek god of medicine, the worship of Asclepius was centered in Epidaurus. See W.K.C. Guthrie, The Greeks and Their Gods, 1950; Carl Linnaeus, Species Plantarum. 214. 1753 and Genera Plantarum. Ed. 5. 102. 1754.
some species of Asclepias are extremely poor sources of cardenolides, such as Asclepias fascicularis, Asclepias tuberosa, and Asclepias angustifolia.[citation...
found in fields with dry soil. Asclepias tuberosa subsp. interior – (Central United States, Ontario and Quebec) Asclepias tuberosa subsp. rolfsii – Rolfs...
Asclepias curassavica, commonly known as tropical milkweed, is a flowering plant species of the milkweed genus, Asclepias. It is native to the American...
Asclepias syriaca, commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant...
ovary. Asclepias asperula does not self-pollinate so they are dependent on attracting pollinators that will transfer pollen between plants. Asclepias asperula...
the flowering plant genus Asclepias. As of February 2024[update], Plants of the World Online accepts 204 species in Asclepias. A B C D E F G H I J K L...
has media related to Asclepias speciosa. Jepson Manual Treatment: Asclepias speciosa Ethnobotany: Asclepias speciosa Asclepias speciosa Photo gallery...
Kaitlyn (eds.). "Asclepias viridis Green antelopehorn" (PDF). Pollinator Plants of the Central United States: Native Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.). Washington...
Briza Publications 1997. ISBN 1-875093-09-5 Philip H. Quanjer. "Milk Weed Asclepias fruticosa". Retrieved 10 January 2014. p. 36 in D. Jesse Wagstaff (2008)...
arroyos. Asclepias texana is a shrubby perennial, growing to ~2 feet tall. It produces bright white flowers in the summer. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Asclepias texana"...
Asclepias oenotheroides is a species of milkweed, commonly known as zizotes milkweed or side-cluster milkweed. It is native to the south-western United...
lancifolia (now known as Asclepias perennis).[dubious – discuss] "NatureServe Explorer - Asclepias eriocarpa". NatureServe Explorer Asclepias eriocarpa. NatureServe...
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Asclepias humistrata. Wikispecies has information related to Asclepias humistrata. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized...
behavior can be seen in multiple milkweed species, such as Asclepias syriaca. "Asclepias meadii - Torr. ex Gray: Mead's Milkweed". NatureServe Explorer...
20, 2018. "Asclepias amplexicaulis". Illinois Prairie. MuseumLink Illinois, Illinois State Museum Society. 2000. Media related to Asclepias amplexicaulis...
médicinales 2. Wageningen, Netherlands: PROTA. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gomphocarpus physocarpus. Asclepias physocarpa photos USDA Plants Profile...
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Asclepias verticillata. Asclepias verticillata, the whorled milkweed, eastern whorled milkweed, or horsetail milkweed...
of Asclepias cryptoceras" (PDF). Botanical Gazette. 61 (1). The University of Chicago Press: 72–74. doi:10.1086/331718. JSTOR 2468759. "Asclepias cryptoceras"...
Connecticut. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Asclepias variegata. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Asclepias variegata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov)...
the 23 Species of Asclepias (Asclepiadaceae) in Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon Including Two New Species, Asclepias Bifida and Asclepias Prostrata". The Southwestern...
Asclepias perennis, also known as aquatic milkweed or white swamp milkweed (not to be confused with swamp milkweed; Asclepias incarnata), is a North American...
Wildflower Society. ISBN 0-395-96609-4. Media related to Asclepias exaltata at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Asclepias exaltata at Wikispecies v t e...
Asclepias (Asclepiadaceae) from Utah. Brittonia 31:1 110-14. Palmer, B. C. and L. Armstrong. Demography and monitoring of Welsh's milkweed (Asclepias...
Global Information
