Common Milkweed

(Asclepias syriaca L.)

Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed Family)

young plant arising from creeping roots in spring▲

mature plants▲▼

flowers▲▼

fruit▲

Common Milkweed: (page 54-55 in Weeds of the Great Plains, page 102 in Weeds of the Northeast)

·         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