Milkweed, Showy

Showy Milkweed, native west of the Mississippi, has round clusters of rosy-pink flowers and grows 3–4’ tall. Asclepias speciosa is similar to Common Milkweed, but its pinkish-purple flowers have longer petals that taper more and are covered with fine hairs. It is an excellent nectar sources and food for the larval stages of Monarch and Queen butterflies. Ideal ornamental native wildflower garden or prairie meadow. The plant's latex contains glycosides, making the leaves and seed pods toxic in large quantities to sheep and other large mammals, and potentially humans. Flower buds are eaten raw or cooked. They taste somewhat like peas and can be used to thicken soups. Young shoots and leaves are eaten cooked as an asparagus substitute. The young spring shoots were eaten raw by some native American tribes. Tips of older shoots are cooked like spinach. The immature pods are peeled before being eaten. Both the plant fiber and the floss were used historically by Native Americans for cordage, nets and for weaving a coarse cloth. The plant and it sap has several medicinal uses to Southwestern tribes. Tags: Color: Pink Purple, Season: Summer.

It is native to the Western U.S. and Canada.