Poke Milkweed
Asclepias exaltata L.
The woodland milkweed. Tall and slender with broad thin leaves like pokeweed, carrying loose, drooping clusters of green-and-white flowers that hang like small chandeliers along a shaded forest edge.
Also called Tall Milkweed.
- Height
- 3 ft–6 ft
- Spread
- 1.5 ft–2.5 ft
- Flowers
- white, green
- Bloom
- June to July
- Light
- Part shade, Shade
- Soil moisture
- Average
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Leaves
- Opposite, ovate
- Sap
- Milky latex
- Roots
- Deep taproot, resents transplanting
- Stratification
- 30 days cold-moist
- Range
- 27 states
When it flowers
Poke Milkweed blooms June to July, peaking in June.
How to identify it
- Grows in shade and dappled woodland, which no other milkweed reliably does.
- Flower clusters are loose and pendulous, with widely spaced flowers on long stalks.
- Petals green-tinged white, reflexed sharply back from pure white hoods.
- Leaves broad, thin, pointed at both ends, on distinct stalks.
Ecology and wildlife value
The only significant monarch host in eastern woodland habitats, and it hybridises occasionally with common milkweed where the two meet in clearings.
Growing poke milkweed
Genuinely useful for shady gardens. Give it part shade, humus-rich moist soil and, if possible, no competition from tree roots. Well behaved and clump-forming.
Seed needs about 30 days of cold-moist stratification. Deep taproot, resents transplanting. See how to plant milkweed seed for the full method.
Cautions
Standard milkweed cautions. More on milkweed toxicity.
Where poke milkweed grows
Recorded in 27 states: Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia.
Distribution is generalized to state level. For county-level maps see USDA PLANTS and BONAP.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a milkweed that grows in shade?
Poke milkweed (A. exaltata) is the one. It grows at woodland edges and in dappled shade across the eastern states. Fourleaf milkweed (A. quadrifolia) is a smaller second option for dry woodland.
References and further reading
Names, ranges and conservation status here are drawn from the databases below. Where those disagree with a regional flora, trust the flora.
- Plants of the World Online 94266-1. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Accepted name, authorship and global distribution.
- GBIF 3170307. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Aggregated occurrence records.
- iNaturalist 125386. Community observations, photographs and phenology.
- Wikipedia. General-audience article on this species.
- BONAP county distribution map. Biota of North America Program. County-level range map.
- NatureServe Explorer. Conservation status ranks at global and state level.
- World Flora Online. Nomenclature and synonymy.
- Woodson, R. E. (1954). The North American species of Asclepias L.. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 41(1): 1–211. The monograph the modern taxonomy of the genus still rests on. View
- Flora of North America Editorial Committee (eds.) (2026). Flora of North America North of Mexico. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford. Accepted names, keys and descriptions for the North American flora. View
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2026). Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Nomenclature and global distribution, keyed to IPNI name identifiers. View
- Kartesz, J. T. (Biota of North America Program) (2026). North American Plant Atlas. BONAP, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. County-level distribution maps, the basis for the ranges generalized here. View
- USDA, NRCS (2026). The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, North Carolina. State-level distribution, wetland status and nomenclature. View
- Agrawal, A. A. (2017). Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution. Princeton University Press. The standard general account of the milkweed and monarch relationship. View
Cite this page
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Milkweed USA. (2026). Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata). Retrieved DATE, from https://milkweedusa.com/species/poke-milkweed/
"Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata)." Milkweed USA, 2026, https://milkweedusa.com/species/poke-milkweed/. Accessed DATE.
Milkweed USA. "Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata)." Last modified 2026-08-01. Accessed DATE. https://milkweedusa.com/species/poke-milkweed/.
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title = {Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata)},
author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://milkweedusa.com/species/poke-milkweed/},
note = {Accessed DATE}
}