silk·weed
(sĭlk′wēd′)n.
A milkweed.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
silkweed
(ˈsɪlkˌwiːd)n
(Plants) another name for milkweed1
[C19: so called because the pods contain a silklike down]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
milk•weed
(ˈmɪlkˌwid)n.
1. any of several plants of the genus Asclepias, characterized by a milky juice, clusters of white-to-purple flowers, and pods filled with silky tufted seeds.
2. any of various other plants having a milky juice, as certain spurges.
[1590–1600]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  silkweed - any of numerous plants of the genus Asclepias having milky juice and pods that split open releasing seeds with downy tuftsherb, herbaceous plant - a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests Asclepias, genus Asclepias - genus of chiefly North American perennial herbs: silkweed; milkweed Asclepias albicans, white milkweed - tall herb with leafless white waxy stems and whitish starlike flowers; southwestern United States Asclepias curassavica, blood flower, swallowwort - tropical herb having orange-red flowers followed by pods suggesting a swallow with outspread wings; a weed throughout the tropics Asclepias exaltata, poke milkweed - milkweed of the eastern United States with leaves resembling those of pokeweed Asclepias incarnata, swamp milkweed - densely branching perennial of the eastern United States with white to crimson or purple flowers Asclepia meadii, Asclepias meadii, Mead's milkweed - milkweed of central North America; a threatened species Asclepias purpurascens, purple silkweed - perennial of eastern North America having pink-purple flowers Asclepias speciosa, showy milkweed - milkweed of southern North America having large starry purple and pink flowers Asclepias subverticillata, horsetail milkweed, poison milkweed - milkweed of southwestern United States and Mexico; poisonous to livestock Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly weed, chigger flower, chiggerflower, Indian paintbrush, orange milkweed, pleurisy root, tuber root - erect perennial of eastern and southern United States having showy orange flowers Asclepias verticillata, whorled milkweed - milkweed of the eastern United States with narrow leaves in whorls and greenish-white flowers |
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