# Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)

> The West’s answer to common milkweed, and the single most important monarch host plant between the Great Plains and the Sierra Nevada. Its flowers are the showiest in the genus: star-shaped, rose-pink, with long pointed hoods that give each cluster a spiky, ornamental look. Gray-green velvety foliage sets it apart at fifty paces.

Source: https://milkweedusa.com/species/showy-milkweed/  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Milkweed USA)

## Summary

The West’s answer to common milkweed, and the single most important monarch host plant between the Great Plains and the Sierra Nevada. Its flowers are the showiest in the genus: star-shaped, rose-pink, with long pointed hoods that give each cluster a spiky, ornamental look. Gray-green velvety foliage sets it apart at fifty paces.

## Key facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Asclepias speciosa Torr. |
| Genus | Asclepias |
| Family | Apocynaceae |
| Common names | Showy Milkweed, Greek Milkweed, Creek Milkweed |
| Status | Native |
| Height | 2 ft–5 ft |
| Spread | 2 ft–8 ft |
| Flower color | pink, rose |
| Bloom period | May to August |
| Light | Full sun |
| Soil moisture | Average, Dry |
| USDA zones | 3-9 |
| Leaf arrangement | opposite |
| Leaf shape | ovate |
| Sap | Milky latex |
| Root system | Rhizomatous, spreads by root |
| Seed stratification | 30 days cold-moist |
| Monarch value (0-5) | 5 |
| Garden value (0-5) | 4 |
| Nectar value (0-5) | 5 |
| US states recorded | Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming |

## Identification

- Hoods are long, narrow and sharply pointed, giving the flower head a distinctly starry silhouette. This is the key difference from common milkweed.
- Leaves are thick, gray-green and densely velvety-hairy on both sides.
- Flower clusters are held upright to slightly nodding, not fully drooping.
- Pods are woolly and covered in soft, blunt projections.

## Ecology

Carries the bulk of western monarch breeding along irrigation ditches, riverbanks and roadsides from the Front Range to the Cascades. Bumble bees, digger bees and hummingbird moths work the flowers heavily. In much of the Intermountain West it is the only large-leaved milkweed available to a female monarch.

## Growing

Far better behaved than common milkweed but still rhizomatous, so expect a slowly widening patch rather than a discrete clump. Tolerates alkaline soils, clay, drought and cold. It is the default milkweed for a Colorado, Montana, Idaho or Utah garden, and it looks good enough for a front border.

## Cautions

Mildly toxic to grazing animals in quantity. Sap is a skin and eye irritant, so wash hands after cutting stems.

## Questions

**Is showy milkweed good for a home garden?**

Yes, with room. It is more ornamental and much less rampant than common milkweed, but it still spreads by rhizome. Give it a bed at least six feet across, or plan on pulling shoots.

**How do I tell showy milkweed from common milkweed?**

Look at the flower. Showy milkweed has long, tapering, sharply pointed hoods that make the cluster look starry; common milkweed’s hoods are short and rounded. Showy milkweed leaves are also greyer and more velvety.

## References

- Plants of the World Online: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:94654-1
- GBIF: https://www.gbif.org/species/3170260
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/62292
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_speciosa
- BONAP county map: https://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Asclepias%20speciosa.png
- NatureServe: https://explorer.natureserve.org/Search?searchTerm=Asclepias%20speciosa

## Photographs

- Asclepias speciosa showy milkweed plant (Dcrjsr, CC BY 4.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_speciosa_showy_milkweed_plant.JPG
- Asclepias speciosa at Seedskadee NWR (52262973263) (USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_speciosa_at_Seedskadee_NWR_(52262973263).jpg
- Asclepias speciosa at Seedskadee NWR 90 (48714856017) (USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_speciosa_at_Seedskadee_NWR_90_(48714856017).jpg
- Asclepias speciosa at Seedskadee NWR 94 (48714355833) (USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_speciosa_at_Seedskadee_NWR_94_(48714355833).jpg
- Asclepias speciosa at Seedskadee NWR 95 (48714349013) (USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_speciosa_at_Seedskadee_NWR_95_(48714349013).jpg
- Asclepias speciosa and western harvester ant at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge (48714249742) (USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_speciosa_and_western_harvester_ant_at_Seedskadee_National_Wildlife_Refuge_(48714249742).jpg
- Asclepias speciosa1jakesmome (vicki watkins from USA, CC BY 2.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_speciosa1jakesmome.jpg
- Asclepias speciosa (5258351774) (Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asclepias_speciosa_(5258351774).jpg

## How to cite

Milkweed USA. (2026). Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa). https://milkweedusa.com/species/showy-milkweed/