Milkweed has historically been used in folk remedies to treat warts and rashes, although it can irritate the skin. The leaves of milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.) ... although there are more efficient sources of plant fiber for such tasks. Submitted by Dina Williams on August 17, 2017 - 1:35pm, Live in east meadow,long island have tons of milkweed monarchs lay eggs every year we raise and release the butterflies, Submitted by Mary Ponder on August 15, 2017 - 12:55am. The plant in your garden is likely Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)! The milkweed plant produces a fiber that can be used by spinners. Milkweed is a nasty perennial weed, but its chances of growing into a new cultivated crop are getting better, thanks to Agricultural Research Service scientists who are finding several uses for milkweedâs many parts.. Wild milkweed grows along roadsides and in fields in the eastern U.S. as far south as Georgia. The Omaha people from Nebraska, the Menomin from Wisconsin and upper Michigan, the Dakota from Minnesota, and the Ponca people from Nebraska, traditionally used it for medicinal purposes. In current research, a chemical extracted from the seed is being tested as a pesticide for nematodes. A few Monarchs have visited during the summer much to our delight!! Uses Warning: Milkweed may be toxic when taken internally, without sufficient preparation. This year we arrived to find the tops bitten (cut or whatever) off all the plants. Any idea why? Submitted by Jeff State on July 13, 2018 - 5:23pm. You can buy milkweed online (and probably in big box stores as well) listed as "food for butterflies". Submitted by Joshua Zoccoli on September 20, 2017 - 12:03pm. Ethnobotanic: People have used milkweed for fiber, food, and medicine all over the United States and southern Canada. Submitted by Cyndy Franz on August 18, 2017 - 2:10pm. A primitive, coarse cloth can be made from weaving the fiber. Many parts of milkweed are used in medicinal applications. Omissions? In the case of skin cancer medicine, the common name “milkweed” refers to the plant Euphorbia peplus, which is in a different plant family (Euphorbiaceae) from the common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca (Apocynaceae). The milkweed plant produces a fiber that can be used by spinners. Spray it on your plants to kill bugs that you are competing with for your food? Inside milkweed’s rough seed pods is another wonderful surprise: The fluffy white floss, attached to milkweed’s flat brown seeds, could be used to stuff pillows, mattresses, and quilts, and was carried as tinder to start fires. Submitted by KaetyJ on July 9, 2018 - 6:00pm. Beneath its dull, gray-green exterior, milkweed is slightly toxic. Native Americans employed the stalk fibers for making string and rope. I discovered two years ago that milkweed was the Monarch butterfly best friend. Its stems were separated into strips and used for bow strings, thread, fishing line, and belts. I think, after one experience, they may leave them alone in the future. Submitted by Kathy O'Connor on September 6, 2017 - 5:07pm, Yes I get lots of milkweed in my yard. Submitted by Denise Tornick on July 11, 2019 - 11:37am. Milkweeds supply tough fibers for making cords and ropes, and for weaving a coarse cloth. The stems’ tough, stringy fibers were twisted into strong twine and rope, or woven into coarse fabric. Learn about this surprisingly useful native plant. The leaves are arranged opposite and have an oblong-ovate shape with a short petiole. See more ideas about milkweed, fiber, plant fibres. This quality is being explored as systems to clean up oil spills as milkweed silk absorbs oil readily. As well, Milkweed strings can be woven into course fabric. Fibers from hemp, flax, dogbane, milkweed and nettle have been used for thousands of years to produce textiles, cordage, netting, etc. Now I let it grow and and this year there are more than twenty individual plants growing. This has led to a 90% decline in the number of eastern monarchs in a just single decade. Yes, you can find milkweed seeds for sale online from both nurseries and butterfly conservation societies. Thank you for the article - I hope others can grow milkweed & find it useful. The common milkweed plant is the easiest to grow. Even though I am in Arizona, I enjoy numerous monarch butterflies in the fall and have used them to teach conservation to children. Submitted by Natalie Gagnon on October 4, 2017 - 12:07pm. The floss obtained from the seed, is used for stuffing purpose. Milkweed has a long history of medicinal, every day, and military use. Hereâs a milkweed plant fact: Milkweed produces four different edible products, and all of them are delicious. Milkweed has been used for dye, fiber (both stem and silk), highly bouyant life jacket stuffing and sleeping bag insulation (World War II), spoons (dried pod halves), sugar (processed nectar from blossoms), wart medicine (milky sap), cough medicine (root), and food for hundreds of years. I live in North CA and haven't seen a Monarch butterfly in many years. I have let several plants keep growing on my property. The fibres contain oily material and lignin, a woody plant substance, which makes them too brittle for spinning. Milkweed produces at four different edible products, and all of them are delicious. The information you received was passed down from a misidentified dogbane by Euell Gibbons back in 1962 and apparently that information “stuck”. Submitted by Pat on October 9, 2018 - 2:32pm. Did you know that the semi moon shaped crescent the milkweed seeds grow on is the best spark catcher when using flint and steel to start a fire? Submitted by Jim Irvine on July 13, 2018 - 12:54pm. 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