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Asclepias speciosa
Also called Pink milkweed, Greek milkweed
Showy milkweed is a hairy, upright, milky-sapped perennial of western North America, growing up to about 120 cm, with pink flower clusters in summer. It is a native wildflower of streams, dry slopes and roadsides, best grown in full sun with well-drained soil.
Asclepias speciosa is a milky-sapped perennial plant in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), known commonly as the showy milkweed and is found in the western half of North America.
This species is native to the western half of North America, including British Columbia and from the Cascade Range in California east to the central United States. It grows along streams, dry slopes, open woodland areas, and roadsides.
Native Americans used fiber in the stems for rope, basketry, and nets. Some Native Americans used the milky sap for medicinal purposes.
Cartwheels · Whitestem milkweed · Spider milkweed · California milkweed · Heartleaf milkweed · Bloodflower · Curtiss' milkweed · Woollypod milkweed · Desert milkweed · Poke milkweed · Mexican whorled milkweed · Florida milkweed
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Asclepias speciosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
