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You are here: Home / Plant Profile

Asclepias syriaca L.
common milkweed



General Information
Symbol: ASSY
Group: Dicot
Family: Asclepiadaceae
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb
Native Status: CAN   N
L48   N
Plant Guide (pdf) (doc)
Data Source and Documentation
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green round image for nativity Native blue round image for introduced Introduced ocre round image for introduced and nativity Both white round image for no status Absent/Unreported
image for native, but no county data Native, No County Data image for introduced, but no county data Introduced, No County Data both introduced and native, but no county data Both, No County Data
Native Status:
lower 48 status L48    Alaska status AK    Hawaii status HI    Puerto Rico status PR    Virgin Islands status VI    Navassa Island NAV    Canada status CAN    Greenland status GL    Saint Pierre and Michelon status SPM    North America NA   

Images

click on a thumbnail to view an image, or see all the Asclepias thumbnails at the Plants Gallery

Jennifer Anderson. United States, IA, Scott Co., Davenport. 2002. Usage Requirements.

©Thomas G. Barnes. Barnes, T.G., and S.W. Francis. 2004. Wildflowers and ferns of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. Usage Requirements.

Steve Hurst. Provided by ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory. United States, DC, Washington. Usage Requirements.

©Elaine Haug. Provided by Smithsonian Institution, Department of Botany. United States, VA, Woodbridge, Occoquan National Wildlife Refuge. Usage Requirements.

©Jim Stasz. Usage Requirements.

©Jim Stasz. Usage Requirements.

©Jim Stasz. Usage Requirements.

Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 3: 28. Provided by Kentucky Native Plant Society. Scanned by Omnitek Inc. Usage Requirements.

Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 3: 30. Provided by Kentucky Native Plant Society. Scanned by Omnitek Inc. Usage Requirements.

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Synonyms

Symbol Scientific Name
ASIN13 Asclepias intermedia Vail
ASKA3 Asclepias kansana Vail
ASSYK Asclepias syriaca L. var. kansana (Vail) Palmer & Steyerm.

Classification

Click on a scientific name below to expand it in the PLANTS Classification Report.
Rank Scientific Name and Common Name
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass Asteridae
Order Gentianales
Family Asclepiadaceae – Milkweed family
Genus Asclepias L. – milkweed
Species Asclepias syriaca L. – common milkweed

Subordinate Taxa

This plant has no children

Legal Status

U.S. Weed Information
Asclepias syriaca
common milkweed
This plant can be weedy or invasive according to the authoritative sources noted below.This plant may be known by one or more common names in different places, and some are listed above. Click on an acronym to view each weed list, or click here for a composite list of Weeds of the U.S.
KY Haragan, P.D.. 1991. Weeds of Kentucky and adjacent states: a field guide. The University Press of Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky.
N'EAST Uva, R.H., J.C. Neal,and J.M. DiTomaso. 1997. Weeds of the Northeast. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, New York.
NE&GP Stubbendieck, J., G.Y. Friisoe,and M.R. Bolick. 1994. Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains. Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Lincoln, Nebraska.
SWSS Southern Weed Science Society. 1998. Weeds of the United States and Canada. CD-ROM. Southern Weed Science Society. Champaign, Illinois.

Wetland Status

Interpreting Wetland Status

North America
Arid West FACU
Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain UPL
Eastern Mountains and Piedmont FACU
Great Plains UPL
Midwest FACU
Northcentral & Northeast UPL
Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast FACU

Wildlife

Food

Source Large Mammals Small Mammals Water Birds Terrestrial Birds

Cover

Source Large Mammals Small Mammals Water Birds Terrestrial Birds

Description of Values

Value Class Food Cover

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