Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

asclepias

British  
/ əˈskliːpɪəs /

noun

  1. Sometimes called: milkweed.  any plant of the perennial mostly tuberous genus Asclepias; some are grown as garden or greenhouse plants for their showy orange-scarlet or purple flowers: family Asclepiadaceae

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of asclepias

Greek asklēpias swallowwort

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

They include various asclepias, tithonia, giant coneflower and the Maryland wild senna, the last a native plant deserving much more garden use.

From Washington Post May 28, 2019

I have seen several instances of acute ophthalmia that have terminated in loss of sight from the accidental rubbing of the eye with the hand when engaged in cutting firewood from the asclepias.

From The Nile tributaries of Abyssinia, and the sword hunters of the Hamran arabs by Baker, Samuel White, Sir

The short streets, after rain, are almost impassable on account of the many puddles, and are choked up with weeds—leguminous shrubs, and scarlet-flowered asclepias.

From The Naturalist on the River Amazons by Bates, Henry Walter

Burman relates that, in the latter country, when cow's milk is wanting, the milk of this asclepias is used; and that the ailments commonly prepared with animal milk are boiled with its leaves.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 2 by Humboldt, Alexander von

She hoped also to gather some useful plants,—such as the shkoa, a spinach-like vegetable; asclepias; apotz, a fever-medicine of the genus artemesia, and many other medicinal herbs known to the Indian and used by him.

From The Delight Makers by Bandelier, Adolph Francis Alphonse

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training