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Whorled milkweed

Asclepias verticillata

Also called Eastern Whorled Milkweed, Horsetail Milkweed

Whorled milkweed
Photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0

Whorled milkweed is a native North American perennial herb with narrow leaves in whorls and small greenish white flower umbels. It is a hardy, drought-tolerant wildflower that suits sunny, well-drained garden sites and supports monarch butterflies.

Family
Apocynaceae (Dogbane family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water regularly while establishing, then only during prolonged dry spells; avoid waterlogged soil.
Soil
Well-drained, average to poor soil; tolerates sandy or rocky ground.
Temperature
Hardy to around -30 °C; tolerates hot summers.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: All parts contain cardiac glycosides and other milkweed toxins that can cause nausea, vomiting and heart irregularities if eaten in quantity.
Native range
C. & E. Canada to WC. & E. U.S.A.
Climate
temperate

About

Asclepias verticillata, the whorled milkweed, eastern whorled milkweed, or horsetail milkweed, is a species of milkweed native to most of eastern North America and parts of western Canada and the United States.

Uses

It was used as a medicinal plant by Native American peoples. The Choctaw used it to treat snakebite, the Lakota and Hopi used it to increase breast milk in nursing mothers, and the Navajo used it for nose and throat problems.

Other Asclepias plants

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 verticillata 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.

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