Milkweed Pods

From the time their first green shoots appear in spring until their dead
brown stalks stand above the snow in winter, the milkweeds have a
variety of uses and features of interest. The common name refers to the
milky juice that oozes from stems and leaves when they are cut or
broken. Because the roots of milkweeds were used as drugs, their
scientific name, Asclepias, was taken from that of the Greek god of
medicine.

The Common Milkweed so often seen in fields, waste places, and
along roadsides is the largest and most familiar of the dozen or more
kinds found in the Chicago region. The large oval leaves are arranged
in pairs on the tall stout stem so that if one pair points east and west,
the pair above and the pair below point north and south. Like other
milkweeds it is a perennial reproducing both from seeds and long
shallow roots that live over the winter.

The "milk" is not the sap of the plant but a special secretion.
Extremely bitter, it serves as a protection against most nibbling and
grazing animals. On the contrary, milkweed leaves are the only food of
the caterpillar of our monarch butterfly. Also, this milk quickly seals
any wound on the plant because it contains latex and, as it dries,
becomes very sticky and elastic, turning into a kind of crude rubber.
See how a drop of the milk makes your thumb and fingers cling
together. Like rubber cement, it cannot be washed off with soap and
water. During World War II when imports of natural rubber from the
rubber tree were cut off, the milkweed was tested as a possible
substitute.

In spring, the tender shoots can be boiled and eaten like asparagus. In
autumn, the roots are still collected and marketed in small amounts for
the drugs they contain. Formerly, these were common remedies for
lung trouble and rheumatism. The Indians made twine from the coarse
strong fibers in the bark of the stalk. The dead stalks with their
picturesque empty pods are favorites for making winter bouquets and
art objects.