Common Milkweed

Asclepias syriaca L.

Milkweed family

Plant Type
Forb/herb
Life Cycle
Perennial
Mature Height
5.0 feet
Flower Color
White, Purple
Bloom Time
Late Spring, Early Summer, Mid Summer
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Growing Conditions

Light

Shade Tolerance Intolerant

Ecosystem & Wildlife

Pollinators Native Bees; Bombus; Honey Bees; Beetles, Wasps, Flies; Moths; Butterflies; Monarchs; Nesting and Structure (Bees); Larval Host (Monarch); Larval Host (Butterfly); Larval Host (Moth)
Larval Host Danaus plexippus, Hyalophora cecropia, Papaipema nebris, Parrhasius m-album, Phragmatobia lineata

Native Range

  • USA:  Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode I., South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
  • CAN:  Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward I., Québec, Saskatchewan

Regional Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

State-level native status is based on data available through Plants of the World Online. Regional Native Status comes from the USDA Plants Database. For more detailed native status information, please refer to BONAP.

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