Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Flowers
Milkweed flowers are approximately 1.5 cm in width and are arranged in dense rounded clusters at the terminal shoot. Each flower consists of 5 purplish-pink reflexed petals and a white central crown surrounded by purplish-pink, white-edged, fleshy hoods. Milkweed is in flower from June through August.
Fruits
This fruit, also known as a follicle, is light green and has roughly textured skin. The fruit is rounded near the stem and tapers into a point at the tip. Inside the dry fruit are numerous seeds arranged in an overlapping pattern. Each seed is unilaterally bearded with a long tuft of silky-white hair. When mature, the milkweed fruit turns brown and bursts, releasing the bearded seeds.
Leaves
The large leaves of the milkweed are light green and broadly ovate. Oftentimes, the prominent mid-vein is deep red. The underside of each leaf is covered in a heavy, light-gray down. The leaves are many and are oppositely arranged positioned upward around the stem forming a V.
Habitats
Milkweed grows in old fields, along roadsides, and around waste areas. It is one of the only fruit trees native to this region.
Fun Facts!
Milkweed is a medicinal plant. Its milky sap contains cardiac glycosides that may be used to treat a variety of heart diseases.
The Monarch butterfly is dependent on Milkweed for nutrition and propagation. Milkweed sap is the sole food source of the Monarch butterfly larvae. When Monarch larvae, along with other caterpillars and beetles, ingest the sap, the cardiac glycosides give their blood a toxic character that protects it against predators.