File:Danaus_plexippus_on_Asclepias_incarnata_4999.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Asclepias
Sign in to saveAlso known as milkweed, milkweeds, milkweed genus
Asclepias is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to humans and many other species, primarily due to the presence of cardenolides. However, as with many such plants, some species feed upon milkweed leaves or the nectar from their flowers. A noteworthy feeder on milkweeds is the monarch butterfly, which uses and requires certain milkweeds as host plants for its larvae.
Species
sidenörtsläktet
GENUS
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassMagnoliopsida
- OrderGentianales
- FamilyApocynaceae
General: recognised in the Old World. In the broad sense the Asclepias Flower: (but long-rostrate in Asclepias longirostra)
via GBIF · Kew POWO
Research
677 papers- Asclepias Tuberosa.The North-Western medical and surgical journal · 1848
- Antiproliferative activity of standardized herbal phytopreparation from Asclepias subulata.F1000Research · 2022
- Pharmacological activities of Asclepias curassavica L. (Apocynaceae) aerial parts.Journal of ethnopharmacology · 2021
- Asclepias Syriaca (Common Milkweed) flowering date shift in response to climate change.Scientific reports · 2018
- Cardenolides in Asclepias syriaca Seeds: Exploring the Legacy of Tadeus Reichstein.Journal of natural products · 2025
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Asclepiascommon.JPG
Show 6 more facts
- taxon name
- Asclepias
- Commons category
- Asclepias
- taxon common name
- svilnica
- PAEnflowered taxon URL
- www.paenflowered.org/apgii/gentianales/apocynaceae/asclepias
- Flora of the Hawaiian Islands URL
- naturalhistory2.si.edu/botany/hawaiianflora/genusdescr.cfm?genus=Asclepias
via Wikidata · CC0
~17 min read
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Flowers
- Selected species
- Ecology
- Monarch butterfly conservation and milkweeds
- Uses
- References
- External links
Asclepias is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to humans and many other species, primarily due to the presence of cardenolides. However, as with many such plants, some species feed upon milkweed leaves or the nectar from their flowers. A noteworthy feeder on milkweeds is the monarch butterfly, which uses and requires certain milkweeds as host plants for its larvae.
The Asclepias genus contains over 200 species distributed broadly across Africa, North America, and South America. It previously belonged to the family Asclepiadaceae, which is now classified as the subfamily Asclepiadoideae of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae.