Common Milkweed - Asclepias syriaca L.
Above: Common Milkweed by the Wingra Boathouse in Madison, Wisconsin. (6/29/19).
Common Milkweed - Asclepias syriaca L.
Common Milkweed is a native plant that can grow between 3 to 6 feet tall in Wisconsin.
The flower head is a 3-4 inch cluster of individual pinkish flowers that are about 1/2 inch across with a 5-parted crown and 5 downward-curved petals that look like short, inwardly-curved horns.
The Common Milkweed fruit is a 4-5 inch long, green bumpy pod. Each pod contains numerous brown seeds that are attached to a hairy, fluffy parachute (floss) that aids in wind dispersal.
Other names: Butterfly flower, Silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed.
Blooms: June - August
For more information on the Common Milkweed, visit Wikipedia.
Or, visit the UW-Madison Wisconsin State Herbarium website page about Common Milkweed.
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca L.
Above: Common Milkweed by Marion Dunn Pond on October 20, 2018
Above: Common Milkweed by the Wingra Boathouse in Madison, Wisconsin on June 27, 2019.
Above: Common Milkweed with Goldenrod Soldier Beetle by the Wingra Boathouse in Madison, Wisconsin on June 29, 2019.
Above: Common Milkweed by the Wingra Boathouse in Madison, Wisconsin on June 30, 2019.
Above: Common Milkweed with green fruit pods on shore of Marion Dunn Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on August 8, 2020.
Above: Common Milkweed with green fruit pods by Lake Wingra Boat House in Madison, Wisconsin on August 23, 2019.
Above: Common Milkweed pods with seeds and fluff exploding on shore of Marion Dunn Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on October 2, 2019.
Above: Common Milkweed pods with seeds and fluff exploding on shore of Marion Dunn Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on October 12, 2019.
Above: Common Milkweed pods with seeds and fluff exploding by Wingra Boats in Madison, Wisconsin on October 19, 2021.
Above: Common Milkweed pods on shore of Marion Dunn Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on November 4, 2020.
Above: Common Milkweed pods with seeds and fluff exploding by Wingra Boats in Madison, Wisconsin on December 21, 2019.
Above: Common Milkweed (Asclepias Cornuti a synonym for Asclepias syriaca) flower parts drawing from Bergen's Botany Key and Flora Northern and Central States Edition circa 1901.
Above: Common Milkweed blossom illustration.
Above: Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) illustration by Alice Lounsberry circa 1899.
Above: Common Milkweed (Asclepias cornuti) illustration by Christiaan Sepp circa 1868.
Above: Common Milkweed (Asclepias cornuti) illustration from American Medicinal Plants Vol 2 circa 1887.
Above: 1969 Common Milkweed illustration USDA FS.
