Summary
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. ed. 2, 1:313. 1762
Verified:
07/05/2011
ARS Systematic Botanists.
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Reference(s)
- Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
- Aldén, B., S. Ryman & M. Hjertson. Våra kulturväxters namn - ursprung och användning. Formas, Stockholm (Handbook on Swedish cultivated and utility plants, their names and origin). 2009
- Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. 1970
- Duke, J. A. et al. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. 2002
- Erhardt, W. et al. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen. 2008
- Foster, S. & J. A. Duke. A field guide to medicinal plants: Eastern/Central North America, 2nd ed. 2000
- Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, ed. 2. 1991
- Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 1963
- Grellin, J. K. & J. Philpott. A reference guide to medicinal plants. 1990
- Jones, G. N. & G. D. Fuller. Vascular plants of Illinois. 1955
- Kartesz, J. T. North American plant atlas. The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2011
- Kindscher, K. Medicinal wild plants of the prairie: an ethnobotanical guide. 1992
- Kingsbury, J. M. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. 1964
- Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. Hortus third. 1976
- Magee, D. W. & H. E. Ahles. Flora of the Northeast. A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York. 1999
- McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). Flora of the Great Plains. 1986
- McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
- McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
- Munro, D. B. Canadian poisonous plants information system (on-line resource).
- Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994
- Scoggan, H. J. The flora of Canada, 4 vol. 1978-1979
- Van Wyk, B.-E. & M. Wink. Medicinal plants of the world. 2004
- Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. World economic plants: a standard reference (on-line edition) [medicinal plants only].
- Wilson, F. D. 1980. Wild kenaf, Hibiscus cannabinus L. (Malvaceae), and related species in Kenya and Tanzania. Econ. Bot. 33:119-123.
- Woodson, R. E., Jr. 1954. The North American species of Asclepias L. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 41:105.
- Zeller, R. D. & H. D. Knudsen. 1996. Commercial production of milkweed pods: an alternative business. In: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Jojoba & the Third International Conference on New Industrial Crops. 398-402.
- Webster's third new international dictionary. 1961
Common names
English
common milkweed – silkweed – silky swallowwort – Virginia-silk – French
herbe à coton – herbe à la ouate – petits cochons – German
gewöhnliche Seidenpflanze – Seidenpflanze – Spanish
algodoncillo – asclepias – Swedish
sidenört –
Distribution
| order_code | Status | Continent | Subcontinent | Country | State | Note |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Eastern Canada | Canada | New Brunswick | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Eastern Canada | Canada | Nova Scotia | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Eastern Canada | Canada | Ontario | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Eastern Canada | Canada | Prince Edward Island | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Eastern Canada | Canada | Quebec | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Illinois | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Iowa | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Kansas | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Minnesota | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Missouri | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Nebraska | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | North Dakota | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Oklahoma | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | South Dakota | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Wisconsin | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Connecticut | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Indiana | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Maine | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Massachusetts | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Michigan | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | New Hampshire | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | New Jersey | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | New York | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Ohio | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Pennsylvania | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Rhode Island | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Vermont | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | West Virginia | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northwestern U.S.A. | United States | Montana | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northwestern U.S.A. | United States | Oregon | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | South-Central U.S.A. | United States | Texas | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Alabama | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Arkansas | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Delaware | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Georgia | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Kentucky | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Louisiana | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Maryland | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Mississippi | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | North Carolina | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | South Carolina | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Tennessee | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Virginia | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southwestern U.S.A. | United States | Utah | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Western Canada | Canada | Manitoba | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Western Canada | Canada | Saskatchewan | |
Native
Northern America
-
EASTERN CANADA:
Canada [Quebec, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick]
-
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.:
United States [Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin]
-
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.:
United States [Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia]
-
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.:
United States [Montana, Oregon]
-
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.:
United States [Texas]
-
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.:
United States [Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia]
-
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.:
United States [Utah]
-
WESTERN CANADA:
Canada [Saskatchewan, Manitoba]
Economic Uses
| Usage | Type | Note | Reference |
| Materials | potential as fiber | | Zeller, R. D. & H. D. Knudsen. 1996. Commercial production of milkweed pods: an alternative business. In: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Jojoba & the Third International Conference on New Industrial Crops. 398-402. |
| Medicines | folklore | | McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000 |
| Vertebrate poisons | mammals | | Kingsbury, J. M. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. 1964 |
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System.
2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network
(GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=4478.
Accessed 18 July 2025.