76 



N», 1^. 



species ; which are upwards of thirty. It is a very 



ornamental plant, although inodorous, while many 

 others are sweet scented- The roots which are near- 

 ly tuberous, have given name to it, although the Ji> 

 acuminata is also tuberous. The «/^. decumbens of 

 some Botanists is only one of its varieties : it is very 

 variable in the stems and leaves. 



All the Asclepias are milky ; but this less than 

 others. They all produce a fine glossy and silky down 

 in the follicles or pods ; which has been used for beds, 

 bats, cloth and paper. This down makes excellent 

 beds and pillows, being elastic, and one pound and an 

 half occupying a cubic foot. Light and soft hats are 

 made with it : the staple is too short to be spun and 

 woven alone ; but it may be 'mixed with flax, cotton, 

 wool and raw silk. It makes excellent paper, and the 

 :>talks of the plants afford it likewise, as in flax and 

 ^pocynum. The ./2. syriaca or Silky Swallow-wort 

 producing more of the down, has been cultivated iox 

 the purpose, and a pound of down produced from 

 forty to fifty plants. Its young shoots are edible 

 like poke, and the flowers produce a honey by com- 



pres 



A. syriaca, •d' 



species, have similar medical properties, and may be 

 substituted to this, although somewhat less active. 



Locality— Found all over the United States, but 

 most abundant in the South ; it prefers open situa- 

 tions, poor and gravelly soils, along gravelly streams 

 and on hills. Rare in rich and loamy soils. 



Qualities— The root is brittle when drv, and easi- 



