Common Milkweed
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca L.
Apocynaceae (Dogbane Family (formerly in Asclepiadaceae, the Milkweed Family)
young plant arising from creeping roots in spring ▲
mature plants ▲ ▼
flowers ▲ ▼
▲ ▼ flowers without prominent, hook-like appendage over center of flower (as in Showy Milkweed)
fruit ▲
Asclepias syriaca L., Common Milkweed: (Bayer Code: ASCSY; US Code ASSY)
- a creeping perennial with creeping roots & large, oval, fuzzy, opposite leaves
- stems usually 2-4’ tall, mostly unbranched, in open colonies
- flowers pinkish in axillary, globe-shaped clusters in late spring, early summer
- fruit is large oval pod with hook-like projection on it--seed has “parachutes" to allow wind dispersal
- differs from showy milkweed by lack of hook-like projections in center of flowers, and common milkweed has more bluntly rounded leaf tips (usually)
- common on roadsides, pastures
The “weediness" of milkweeds has been revisited due to them being the main food for monarch butterfly larvae; therefore, milkweeds no longer are being generally considered as weeds to eradicate, and actually have legal protection in some areas.
(Updated January 19, 2019)