Though the Poke Milkweed was new to me, I am no stranger to such milkweed-related gluttony as I’ve watched butterflies of all sizes and colors drawn to other varieties of this wildflower, particularly the Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) that flourishes in my garden. It is this attraction milkweed has for butterflies that has provided me so much joy over the years. Incredibly, not everyone shares my joy.
Because it thrives along roadsides and in waste places, Common Milkweed is generally regarded as little more than a weed, something unsightly and unwanted. Even many gardeners, who should know better, overlook this sweetly aromatic perennial. Similarly, Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), with its bright orange blossoms, is conspicuous by its absence from gardens. Because it grows among Dandelions, Chicory and other such ‘disreputable’ weeds, it suffers the same lack of respect as Common Milkweed.
Milkweeds, however, have not always been regarded as lowly weeds.
The tufts of downy hair that carry milkweed seeds aloft on a breeze have had many uses over the years. Colonists stuffed pillows and mattresses with it, or mixed it with flax or wool to create a softer thread than either created alone. By the 1800’s it was also used for making cloth, hats, and paper.
During the Second World War, when there were shortages of raw materials, milkweed’s silky ‘cotton’ was used in life preservers and for the lining of airmen’s outfits.
As a food source the tender young shoots were eaten like asparagus in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. French Canadians also made brown sugar from the flower heads, which they gathered in the early morning when they were still dew-covered.
The Chippewa Indians stewed Common Milkweed flowers, and ate them like jam. The Sioux boiled the tender young seed pods, eating them with buffalo meat. Hopi mothers who were nursing ate a type of milkweed to increase the flow of milk.
Medicinally, Common Milkweed root was used in the treatment of typhoid fever, and, in general, to help relieve inflammation of the lungs caused by a variety of ailments. Nicholas Culpepper considered the root effective in treating stings and bites and against the ill effects of poisonous herbs. Today it is still used in one medicine for asthma.
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