Showy Milkweed
Asclepias speciosa
Family: Asclepiadaceae
What it is like
Asclepias speciosa or Showy Milkweed is a milky-sapped perennial plant with good edible uses. Flowers, leaves, the root, and seeds are all edible. It also has some medicinal and other uses.
Asclepias speciosa is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.8 m (2ft 7in) by 0.6 m (2ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 2. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen in September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees, insects, Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.
Height (m): 0.8
Where it is found
Prairies, in sandy and loamy, usually moist soils.
Western N. America - Minnesota to British Columbia, south to Kansas, Utah and California.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Flower buds - raw or cooked. They taste somewhat like peas. They can be used to thicken soups. Young shoots and leaves - cooked. An asparagus substitute. One report says that they should not be eaten raw, whilst another says that the young spring shoots were eaten raw by some native American tribes. Tips of older shoots are cooked like spinach. Young seed pods, 3 - 4 cm long - raw or cooked. Very appetizing. The immature pods are peeled before being eaten. Flower clusters can be boiled down to make a sugary syrup or they can be eaten raw. Seed - raw. A chewing gum can be made from the latex contained in the stem and leaves. Root. No further details are given, but another report says that the root can be poisonous in large quantities.
Oil: Oil
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Seedpod: things such as Okra, French and Runner beans.
Gum: can be chewed as a chewing gum or can often be used as a sweetener or thickening agent in foods.
Sweetener: includes sugar substitutes.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The latex is used as a cure for warts. The latex needs to be applied at least once a day of a period of some weeks for it to be effective. The latex has antiseptic properties and has been used to treat skin sores, cuts and ringworm. A decoction of the plant tops can be strained and used to treat blindness and snow-blindness. The root is either chewed when fresh, or dried, ground into a powder then boiled, and used in the treatment of stomach ache. A decoction of the roots has been used in small doses to treat venereal diseases and also to treat coughs, especially from TB. A poultice of the mashed roots has been applied to rheumatic joints. Some caution should be employed when using the root since there is a report that it can be poisonous in large quantities.
Antirheumatic: Treats rheumatism.
Antiseptic: Preventing sepsis, decay or putrefaction, it destroys or arrests the growth of micro-organisms.
Ophthalmic: Treats eye complaints.
Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.
Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.
VD: Used in the treatment of venereal disease
Warts: Used in the treatment of warts, corns etc.
Other
Rating: 3
A good quality tough fibre is obtained from the bark. It is used in twine, coarse cloth, paper etc. The fibre is 10 - 45mm long. It is easily harvested in late autumn, after the plants have died down, by simply pulling it off the dead stems. When making paper, the stems can be retted by leaving them in the ground until they are dry in the winter or they can be harvested in late summer, the leaves removed and the stems steamed to remove the fibre. The stems are then cooked for two hours with lye and pounded with mallets. The paper colour varies from white to creamy green depending on how the paper is made. If the stems are used in the summer the latex will often find its way onto the fibres and is hard to remove. The seed floss is used to stuff pillows etc, or is mixed with other fibres to make cloth. It has also been used as a baby's nappy. The seed floss is a Kapok substitute, used in Life Jackets or as a stuffing material. It is very water repellent. The floss has also been used to mop up oil spills at sea. Rubber can be made from latex contained in the leaves and the stems. The yield is up to 3%. Pods contain an oil and a wax which are of potential importance. A green dye is obtained from the flowers and leaves combined. Asclepias speciosa is a specific Monarch butterfly food and habitat plant. The dogbane-milkweed family Asclepias, Apocynum, Calotropis, and Trachomitum spp) has been used for fiber industrial crops for millennia with a number in cultivation as regional crops. All of these crops are dual-purpose fibres, offering bast fibres from the stem and seed finer or ‘floss’ in the fruit pods. Many have also been identified as potential hydrocarbon crops due to high latex content. Could be integrated into various agroforestry systems rather than as monocultures.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.
Gum: Gums have a wide range of uses, especially as stabilizers, emulsifiers, thickening agents, adhesives etc.
Latex: A source of rubber.
Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.
Paper: Related to the entry for Fibre, these plants have been specifically mentioned for paper making.
Pollution: Plants used to combat pollution.
Stuffing: Used in making soft toys, mattresses, pillows etc.
Experimental Crop: Plant breeders are testing these plants to see if they could be domesticated for cultivation, but they are still in an experimental phase. Examples include milkweed and leafy spurge.
Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon: Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.
Management: Hay: Cut to the ground and harvested annually. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
Experimental Crop: Plant breeders are testing these plants to see if they could be domesticated for cultivation, but they are still in an experimental phase. Examples include milkweed and leafy spurge.
Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon: Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.
Management: Hay: Cut to the ground and harvested annually. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.
How it is grown
Prefers a well-drained light rich or peaty soil and a sunny position. A very ornamental plant, it is closely related to A. purpurascens. The roots can spread quite freely when the plant is in a suitable position. Many members of this genus seem to be particularly prone to damage by slugs. The young growth in spring is especially vulnerable, but older growth is also attacked and even well-established plants have been destroyed in wet years. Plants resent root disturbance and are best planted into their final positions whilst small. The flower of many members of this genus can trap insects between its anther cells, the struggles of the insect in escaping ensure the pollination of the plant.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the autumn or in late winter. We have also had good results from sowing the seed in the greenhouse in early spring, though stored seed might need 2 - 3 weeks cold stratification. Germination usually takes place in 1 - 3 months at 18°c. As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out when they are in active growth in late spring or early summer and give them some protection from slugs until they are growing away strongly. Division in spring. With great care since the plant resents root disturbance. Pot the divisions up and place them in a lightly shaded position in the greenhouse until they are growing away strongly, then plant them out in the summer, giving them some protection from slugs until they are established.. Basal cuttings in late spring. Use shoots about 10cm long with as much of their white underground stem as possible. Pot them up individually and place them in a lightly shaded position in a greenhouse until they are rooting and growing actively. If the plants grow sufficiently, they can be put into their permanent positions in the summer, otherwise keep them in the greenhouse until the following spring and when they are in active growth plant them out into their permanent positions. Give them some protection from slugs until they are established.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 3-9
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Dry, moist
Things to keep in mind
Although no specific reports have been seen for this species, many, if not all, members of this genus contain toxic resinoids, alkaloids and cardiac glycosides. They are usually avoided by grazing animals. One report says that the plant is considered poisonous in large quantities by some native North American Indian tribes.
This plant can be weedy or invasive. Some reports of weed problems in Western USA.