asclepias

noun

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 AsclepiadaceaeSometimes called: milkweed

Word Origin for asclepias

Greek asklēpias swallowwort

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

Examples from the Web for asclepias

The genus Gomphocarpus is distinguished from Asclepias by the absence of horns or crests in the hoods.
Field Book of Western Wild Flowers|Margaret Armstrong
Indigo of an excellent quality has been obtained in the East from a twining plant, Gymnema tingens or Asclepias tingens.
The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom|P. L. Simmonds
The soma plant has been thought to be the Asclepias acida,11 a plant growing in Persia and called hom in Persian.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India|R. V. Russell
The caterpillars feed upon different species of the milkweed (Asclepias).
The Butterfly Book|William Jacob Holland

The bark of the Cassia auriculata, and the milky juice of the Asclepias gigantea, are used for tanning in India.
The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom|P. L. Simmonds