Marsh Milkweed
Marsh Milkweed's leaves are 5-15cm long, and1-3cm wide.
The flowers are bright pink or rarely white. It is a perennial herb with
a shallow, fibrous root system.  It is found on banks and flood plains
of lakes, ponds, waterways, marshes, swamps, and other wet areas.
You can find it in the Great Plains except for west North Dakota,
Northwest South Dakota, Montana, and South Canada.

            The plant is made with a milky juice.  All of them are more
or less poisonous.  It is a very common roadside plant. The plant is
used for medicine in the United States. Its root and its rhizome have
been used in powder and in liquid form, in cases of asthma and typhus
fever. It relieves cough and pain. It has also been used in scrofula with
great success. Its milky juice is used to get rid of warts. The juice has a
faint smell, ucky taste, and an acid reaction.  In North America it is called
"silkweed".Its root helps get rid of fevers, measles, and other diseases.
But now it is used much less than it was in the past.


     This information was researched by Danika Hong.

This page was created by the Osseo-Fairchild sixth grade students supported by a Cluster A Goals 2000 Grant
Created 4/8/1999     Updated 4/8/1999    sdp

You may contact us at:  spoore@mail.ofsd.k12.wi.us

Return to Plant Index

    Return to Ecosystems page      Return to Wetland Directory