Milkweed
Parts Usually Used
Rootstock
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Milkweed is a common, milky-juiced, downy perennial plant; the simple, usually solitary, erect stem grows 3-6 feet high and bears opposite, relatively large, oblong-ovate to oblong, short-petioled leaves. Terminal or lateral umbels of small, dull purple flowers, often drooping in clusters from leaf axils; appear from June to August. Warty seedpods distinguish this species from other milkweeds.
Other varieties: Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata); Four-leaved milkweed (A. quadrifolia).
Where Found
Found in fields, roadsides, fence rows, and waste places of eastern North America, as far west as Kansas and Saskatchewan. The most common milkweed in the Northeast.
Medicinal Properties
Diuretic, emetic, purgative, alterative, tonic
Biochemical Information
Asclepiadin, asclepion, and galitoxin
Legends, Myths and Stories
One species of the milkweed family in the Far East was possibly used as a hallucinogen, which is known in the Hindu religion as “Soma”. The genus name, Asclepiadaceae, is named in honor of the Greek God Asclepius (God of medicine). Native Americans used the juice of milkweed and tea from the leaves of creosote bush as poultices to draw out poison. ” The Shoshones break the tall milkweed and collect the milk and roll it in the hand, until it becomes firm enough to chew.
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Uses
Historically, herbalists recommended milkweed for kidney and bladder conditions, dropsy, water retention, asthma, stomach ailments, gallstones, arthritis, and bronchitis, believing it induced perspiration to reduce fevers. Various Native American traditions utilized the plant in diverse ways; some groups applied the latex topically to warts, moles, and ringworm, while others administered an infusion of the rootstock as a laxative or to affect fertility, including a Mohawk preparation that combined milkweed with Jack-in-the-pulpit.
Beyond medicinal applications, Native Americans harvested the inner fibers of the plant to manufacture cordage and fishing nets, and processed the sap to make chewing gum. Additionally, the boiled roots and young green shoots were historically gathered and prepared as food.
Warning
Milkweed is poisonous in large quantities, especially for children. May be dangerous for people over 55. Take no more than is necessary. Contains cardioactive compounds.
Bibliography
, Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Chinese Medicinal Herbs , compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.
, Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Indian Uses of Native Plants , by Edith Van Allen Murphey, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1958, print 1990 Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements , by James F.
D. and Phyllis A. , 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974