Quercus

Common Milkweed

Asclepias syriaca

Native to Kentucky (estimated)

A colony-forming milkweed with fragrant pink flower clusters and broad leaves.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY

Genus host records with ranges including KY · Asclepias

  • Danaus plexippusMonarch
  • Cycnia collarisUnexpected Cycnia
  • Cycnia teneraDelicate Cycnia, Dogbane Tiger Moth
  • Euchaetes egleMilkweed Tussock Moth or Milkweed Tiger Moth
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
  • Pygarctia spragueiSprague's Pygarctia Moth
  • Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
Show all 13
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
  • Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
59BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Asclepias

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Asclepias

  • Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
Beetles 2
  • Photinus pyralis
  • Trichius piger

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Flies 13
  • Anthrax sinuosa
  • Archytas analis
  • Belvosia bifasciata
  • Belvosia unifasciata
  • Cistogaster occidua
  • Culex stimulans
  • Mallota illinoensis
  • Odontomyia cincta
  • Physocephala texana
  • Scepsis fulvicollis
Show all 13
  • Spallanzania hesperidarum
  • Stomoxys calcitrans
  • Tropidia quadrata

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 13
  • Achalarus lycidas
  • Agrotis ypsilon
  • Anosia plexippus
  • Argynnis cybele
  • Drasteria erechtea
  • Limochores taumas
  • Loxostege similalis
  • Papilio asterias
  • Pholisora catullus
  • Polygonia interrogationis
Show all 13
  • Speyeria idalia
  • Thecla calanus
  • Vanessa atalanta

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 7
  • Ammobia ichneumonea
  • Bembix nubillipennis
  • Cerceris clypeata
  • Leionotus arvensis
  • Priononyx atrata
  • Priononyx thomae
  • Tachytes mandibularis

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other insects 5
  • Euschistus variolarius
  • Lygaeus turcicus
  • Lygus pratensis
  • Podisus spinosus
  • Sinea diadema

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Apocynaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–9b
Flower color
Green, pink, purple or white

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Give spreading roots room in a meadow or naturalized patch. All parts are poisonous if eaten. NC State Extension

Growing sources and scope

Recognizing it

Opposite, broad leaves with downy undersides; warty seed pods and milky sap. Identification source

Also known as

Common Milkweed

Conservation status

Kentucky rankS5
Global rankG5
KY statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources