silkweed

Definitions of silkweed

1. noun

   any of numerous plants of the genus Asclepias having milky juice and pods that split open releasing seeds with downy tufts
   synonyms: milkweed

   types:

   Asclepias albicans, white milkweed

   tall herb with leafless white waxy stems and whitish starlike flowers; southwestern United States

   Asclepias curassavica, blood flower, swallowwort

   tropical herb having orange-red flowers followed by pods suggesting a swallow with outspread wings; a weed throughout the tropics

   Asclepias exaltata, poke milkweed

   milkweed of the eastern United States with leaves resembling those of pokeweed

   Asclepias incarnata, swamp milkweed

   densely branching perennial of the eastern United States with white to crimson or purple flowers

   Asclepia meadii, Asclepias meadii, Mead's milkweed

   milkweed of central North America; a threatened species

   Asclepias purpurascens, purple silkweed

   perennial of eastern North America having pink-purple flowers

   Asclepias speciosa, showy milkweed

   milkweed of southern North America having large starry purple and pink flowers

   Asclepias subverticillata, horsetail milkweed, poison milkweed

   milkweed of southwestern United States and Mexico; poisonous to livestock

   Asclepias tuberosa, Indian paintbrush, butterfly weed, chigger flower, chiggerflower, orange milkweed, pleurisy root, tuber root

   erect perennial of eastern and southern United States having showy orange flowers

   Asclepias verticillata, whorled milkweed

   milkweed of the eastern United States with narrow leaves in whorls and greenish-white flowers

   type of:

   herb, herbaceous plant

   a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests