Milk weed, Silk weed

Milk-weed, Silk-weed (Asclepias) - A large genus of strong-growing herbaceous perennials, few of them adapted for the flower garden, as they require a good deal of room, and are not attractive. They thrive in a light or peaty soil, and may be increased by division. A. acuminata has red and white flowers. A. amaena, purple; A. Cornuti (the common Milk-weed)—also known as A. syriaca—grows vigorously to a height of 4 feet, and bears umbels of deep purple fragrant flowers, of which bees seem to be fond. A. incarnata (the Swamp Milk-weed) is a good waterside plant with rose-purple flowers. A. quadrifolia (Four-leaved Milk-weed) bears fragrant terminal heads of lilac-white flowers early in the summer. A. purpurascens is also a waterside plant with purple flowers. A. rubra (the Red Milk-weed) is a distinct tall-growing plant with long bright green foliage, and large umbels of purple-red flowers. A. tuberosa (the Butterfly Silk-weed) is the prettiest species, with its clusters of showy bright orange-red flowers in the autumn. Good flowering plants may be obtained from seed in three years, but is mostly increased by dividing the tubers. This species likes sandy soil and a warm situation. A. variegata (Variegated Milk-weed) has dense umbels of handsome white flowers with a reddish centre. The downy stems reach a height of 2 to 4 feet, and are mottled with purple.