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MILKWEED
(Asclepias syriaca)
emetic root, snake milk
Description:
Perennial, coarse, erect, 2-4 ft. Root, yellowish, large, branching.
Leaves are scattered, sessile, oblong, smooth in some plants,
hairy in others. White, pink or rose colored flowers grow in close,
roundish clusters. Large, rough-surfaced, flat seed pods, filled
with many seeds, each seed with a tuft of long, silky hairs. North
America in dry fields, hillsides, woods, and along roadsides.
POISONOUS:
Some species of milkweed have medicinal value, but all are
noted for their content of resins, and exceedingly poisonous to
humans, livestock. Greatest amount of poison, concentrated in
the stout stems and leaves. Any part of plant will cause children
to have severe stomach and intestinal upset. Even harmless species
should never be eaten uncooked.
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