asclepiadaceous

American  

[uh-sklee-pee-uh-dey-shuhs] / əˌskli pi əˈdeɪ ʃəs /

adjective

1. belonging to the Asclepiadaceae, the milkweed family of plants.

---

asclepiadaceous British  

/ æˌskliːpɪəˈdeɪʃəs /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Asclepiadaceae , a family of mostly tropical and subtropical flowering plants, including the milkweed and swallowwort, having pollen in the form of a waxy mass (pollinium): now usually regarded as a subfamily of the Apocynaceae

---

Etymology

Origin of asclepiadaceous

1875–80; < New Latin Asclepiadace ( ae ) ( Asclepiad-, stem of Asclepias the type genus ( Latin < Greek asklēpiás a plant, perhaps the swallowwort, derivative of Asklēpiós Asclepius ) + -aceae -aceae ) + -ous