Wild Food Foraging- Common Milkweed

Common Milkweed (Asclepias Syriaca) is a really delicious and nutritious plant, when properly cooked. In this episode, I show:
1. How to properly: identify, forage, and cook common milkweed.
2. How to avoid similar-looking toxic plants.
Here are some key differences to help identify Common Milkweed from other similar plants:
Common Milkweed & Dogbane
1. Common Milkweed stalks are hollow. / Dogbane stalks are solid.
2. Common Milkweed has a single stalk. / Dogbane branches out as it grows.
3. Common Milkweed seedpods are: meaty, shaped like a teardrop, and has soft spikes covering its surface. / Dogbane seedpods are long and slender, similar in appearance to string beans.
Common Milkweed Vs. Butterfly Weed
1. Common Milkweed flowers are often light purple in colour, and sometimes, light pink or even white. / Butterfly Weed flowers are bright red or orange.
2. Common Milkweed sap is white (milky). / Butterfly Weed sap is clear.

[@oOVanillaMelOo]

Here in Quebec, we have fields of milkweed that are used for the fiber in the pods. That fiber is actually more resistant, waterproof and isolating than any natural or artificial fiber! They are even starting a new line of professional sport clothes for those who are going to very harsh climates like Everest, using that fiber. It also provides a great home for the monarchs all summer since the harvest is only in fall. :)

[@aaroniouse]

I'm wondering if the seeds are edible..

[@bluesap7318]

Mel Pascal I made a shirt out of it years ago and it felt better than any of my other shirts my mum threw it away though.

[@hechetonchieres]

No kidding! Even warmer than fur? That's incredible!

[@hechetonchieres]

Do you have more information on this topic? How are they harvested? Do they plant the seeds once they separate them from the down?

[@christal2641]

Save the seeds and distribute them in vacant lots (full sun).

[@ekoukano]

Awesome. 10/10 on information, close-ups, presentation style and clarity of voice and identification. Keep up the awesome work!!!

[@Munden]

Loved the drone shot too showing the milkweed growing in the open field.

[@ekoukano]

Munden: That shot was super cool. "Grows in open fields (close up into HUGE OPEN FIELD" So sick.

[@joyreinhardt7621]

I agree to your kudos on this video !

[@tracischeelk29]

Well said. PERFECT presentation in every way.

[@FlowersOfIcetor]

When I was little I would eat the silk out of milkweed pods growing on the side of the playground. I ate them regularly for about four years before the plant got removed!

[@FlowersOfIcetor]

Kind of like if you mixed skim milk with more water and a little raw sugar, and then made it the texture of cotton candy that never melts or dissolves

[@regularaccount4556]

Woah thats cool, I live in an island.

[@linhfphung7867]

...i thought the video stated you cant eat them raw?? How didcha survive XD

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa4932]

I kinda wanna try some now. Shame that my park has no edible plants, actually, it has toxic plants.

[@stirfry741]

@cristopher wong make sure you only boil parts of the plants with monarch eggs in it

[@sustainablemonarch8458]

Save the milkweed! Save the monarch! Keep planting seeds :)

[@atlasking6110]

Here in Colorado we have the Showy Milkweed. Exactly the same as Common Milkweed except they have larger flower clusters with longer petals on each flower, and they are brighter pink. Edible, with the same processing as Common Milkweed.

[@monke.2191]

🔆

[@jamstagerable]

I love them after boiling and then adding a little butter. Get them in my back yard but I never get enough for how much I like them. I first tried them a year ago after watching this video. Just went outside 5mins ago to get some which brought me back here to where I first found out. ✌️

[@metro2673]

I remember trying the "Milk" from these multiple times when I was a kid.

[@metro2673]

HeavenHammer no it really isn't I'm not even autistic so I really don't have an excuse.

[@404killer]

Well, I ate some grass as a child because I saw a rabbit doing it.

[@jeil5676]

i got some in my eye when i was a kid..it swelled shut but i got the day off school!...swelling went down later that day.

[@virg0_lem0nade]

“HeavenHammer” autistic people are more tuned in to sensory information than you are, actually - i’m sure you don’t care about that since you were just using “autistic” as an insult, though, which does nothing but reveal you to be a gigantic fuckin tool! (: hope everybody else except you has a great day (:

[@nrs4866]

It’s sooo spicy like I remember and it’s spicy and bitter

[@ontariofirs7347]

I want to grow these on my garden to attract butterflies. I absolutely looove it when common milkweed blooms, the fragrance lingers in the nearby air when one is close to the plants

[@monke.2191]

🦋

[@PREPFORIT]

👍🏼. This grows like crazy here in Ontario Canada. A LOT of them were planted to attract and maintain the Monarch butterfly population - As mentioned in this great Video !

[@jeil5676]

milkweed was everywhere near toronto 40 years ago due to all the open feilds where the suburbs now lie...i dont think they had to plant any.

[@___LC___]

The Great Lakes monarch population is in decline and they need that milkweed. Humans have tried to eradicate it and the result has been the loss of pollinators. No pollinators, means no vegetables. The milkweed plant hosts an entire ecosystem that is unique to its chemical composition. While fun to eat, it is needed for making other foods that are fun to eat.

[@TinaShay]

In COLORADO they have listed this plant as a noxious weed and give you a fine if they find it on your farm...

[@same8078]

@@TinaShay That sounds sinister. Like fines for collecting rainwater.

[@Cold417]

@@TinaShay No, that is not correct. Milkweed is not listed in the noxious weed list by the state.

[@MrBelongings]

Really enjoyed this video. I often use the seed pods fluff for fire starting and always overlooked the young pods. Thanks for sharing the additional uses

[@___LC___]

MrBelongings We need the seeds to seed more milkweed, as human intervention (herbicides) is destroying the monarch population and other pollinators that depend on milkweed. Please find other tinder.

[@GuitarUniverse2013]

Great idea regarding fire starting! Easy to pack…I’m gonna try it.

[@GuitarUniverse2013]

Respectfully, the solution to the problem of herbicides is to stop using herbicides in industrial farming. Once again some elitist is trying to frame the problem off on the individual citizen.

[@Pro1er]

WOW! Very professional presentation!

[@1vtmom966]

Thank you for your video! I was concerned about misidentifying Dogbane vs. Asclepias. This is good information, especially in these shaky times.

[@o0Avalon0o]

I've never seen someone put so much care into their videos. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

[@monke.2191]

[@cjw2661]

I LOVE growing this. Not only for the butterflies and bees. BUT because they SMELL WONDERFUL !!! They are VERY fragrant !!!

[@tvfrance3667]

I live in the deep South appreciate your reference to the geography of edible plants. Especially those that grown in the South jungles and forests of the Southeast US. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@monke.2191]

[@stationplaza4631]

I never knew until now there was an edible species of this family. We don't have Monarch butterflies in the UK but I often enjoyed growing A currassavica in the garden. They produce copious amounts of nectar for butterflies and other insects, and provide a great show of colour with their reddish orange outer petals with yellow centres.

[@vickymarcon5612]

I found this growing in my flower bed, and didn’t know what it was. May have yanked some out ugh. I’ll make sure the seeds fall in the same area for following years. Thank you so much for explaining.

[@hungariancottageadventure77]

Great video I found this plant on my land in Hungary but didn't know what it was, a subscriber identified it hence I found your video...wonderful!

[@ideoformsun5806]

I love the way the flowers are scented! And the gorgeous Monarchs that are attracted to them!

[@mikeconley9590]

Thank you for your time and effort.

[@themarblers4399]

We used the sap/milk as paper glue just for fun. I love this plant! But now I love them more!

[@monke.2191]

[@Bman10496]

Incredible production quality

[@ericemmons4541]

My grandmother use to cook up the leaves of milkweed and serve them as greens with a meal. they are particularly good with horseradish. I still eat them to this day.

[@Litzbitz]

I ORDERED MILKWEED SEEDS FROM AMAZON AND PLANTED THEM 4 YEARS AGO. I ADMIRE THEM FOR THEIR FLOWERS AND THE SCENT. NOW NEXT SPRING I WILL TRY THEM AS A FOOD. AWESOME.

[@___LC___]

Grandma Liz's Kisses Or you could help save the Monarchs by panting any seed you get, if you can get then to grow, as the continued existence of a species and the pollination of other food crops outweighs a novelty meal.

[@alberthabib4220]

I’m from Australia and enjoy these informative vids. Some plants you describe are the same as those we have although we call them by different names. Regardless, the precautions you outline apply as does the potential. Thanks

[@monke.2191]

[@crittercosner2877]

I clicked to see if you were going to mention Monarchs and I was happy you did.

[@___LC___]

Critter Cosner However, he didn't mention that the decline in the monarch population is greatly in part due to the removal of milkweed plants and seed pods. So, while fun to eat, it is needed for others more than it is needed for us.

[@ideoformsun5806]

5:15. "The cooked silk mimics melted cheese." Can you describe this in more detail? Or demonstrate the cooking technique or recipe for this?

[@kushpaladin]

Did you not see the part where he boils them for 10 minutes? He cuts it open and the inside resembles melted cheese

[@darrelllancaster9554]

Excellent tutorial. Thank You. 🎯

[@kathleenlairscey5934]

I've never heard of this, thanks for the whole preparation and recipe.

[@jmlnursing1084]

You remind me of Les Stroud! I love you! I hope you get A LOT more subscribers!

[@adrianismyname6090]

I knew you could eat milkweed I just didn't know how THANKS

[@diakristy6262]

Very COMPLICATED intricate plant!

[@bz2unow]

You videos are so well done being educational and inspirational! Those milkweed seed pods looked tasty when stir fried.

[@monke.2191]

[@hamsterama]

I spent much of this summer collecting monarch eggs to raise caterpillars indoors, and milkweed to feed them. There's a park a couple miles from where I live that goes on for miles along a riverbank. The city intentionally planted common milkweed throughout the park so as to attract monarchs. So it's a great pesticide-free source of milkweed. I did not know that immature milkweed pods are edible. Next year I'll consider gathering some pods and trying them out. Might as well gather some food for myself when I'm out gathering food for the caterpillars.

[@___LC___]

hamsterama The problem is that we don't have enough milkweed to support the monarch population. A single caterpillar can eat several plants. The seed is often collected from these places to plant other butterfly gardens. I also rear wild butterflies, but I'm also on the creating habitat to support migratory Monarchs and we need more seed and help planting new gardens of milkweed.

[@jeffreyyenior9757]

Good Video. So many videos are done by people that seem to want nothing more than get clicks. Their content is incomplete or inaccurate, but because of the exciting title, they get clicks. Yours is informative, accurate and even though you didn't talk about every use for milkweed, you covered what you said you would and ensured people knew to take responsibility for further study. That is responsible work, good job! -Nature's Access

[@___LC___]

The best use for it is to let pods mature and then seed new areas to restore the milkweed population to save the North American migrating monarch population and our own stupid behinds for almost killing off several major pollinators, because we didn't understand the implications.

[@PIAMUSA]

Very nice and educational...thnx for sharing....

[@kathvg]

Ate some fried milkweed pods today. It tasted like cheesy zucchini and honestly 10/10 would recommend

[@nunyabisnass1141]

The farm I work at has a field that requires constant maintainence, so kfor the passed couple years we've been collecting and raising the monarchs before mowing it over. There's an adjacent field that has plenty of milkweed that we only mow in the fall, long after most native species have gone to seed.

[@erikjohnson9223]

Other Asclepius species than A. tuberosa ( butterfly weed) are more likely to be confused with the common one, though apart from showy milkweed (A. speciosa, which tends to replace Common west of the Mississippi) which is also reported to have a relatively low toxicity, they are more rare. A. sullivantii (prairie milkweed) ( which spreads less aggressively by rhizomes and I think has smooth pods) and A. purpurescens (the eastern Purple Milkweed, which doesn't form rhizomes and has prettier, darker flowers) are vegetatively similar but have higher cardenolides (heart poisons). Get to know the milkweeds in your area ( or intentionally plant the ones you want--Common for food, others for landscaping or Monarchs [except, ironically, butterfly weed which has good nectar but such tough leaves that female Monarchs will rarely lay eggs on it if something else is available). In Chicago, milkweed bugs (which look almost the same as boxelder bugs-- true bugs similar to stinkbugs, with orange and black aposemitic colors) swarm & feed on the pods of milkweeds and their close relatives. Do the pods become more bitter if attacked by insects?

[@monke.2191]

[@outwardpanicjoe8950]

Hey have you ever though about doing an episode on eating acorns?

[@obiwankenobi1685]

Michael Fresh I’d recommend putting them in the coals of hot fire and acorns pop like popcorn

[@ApatheticBlogger]

The seed pods kind of look like okra!

[@jmlnursing1084]

Your videos are fantastic!!!

[@l.g.n.8385]

Awesome and grateful for your information ✌

[@canadianwoodlandsurvival1564]

Pretty cool but I think Imma pass on this one leave it for the butterflies 🌸🦋

[@christal2641]

Normally, picking early pods/fruits causes the plant to produce MANY more fruits.

[@heterodox3487]

Christa L thanks for sharing that, will pick more to see how that works🍀

[@superjeffstanton]

Great advice!!!

[@zanyjosh4047]

That looked so weird when you opened that mature seed pod. The seeds looked like scales. Any way, great video dude! Maybe I can cook some this up when I get around to it.

[@denofearthundertheeverlast5138]

Samuel Thayer states that milkweeds can be taste tested raw using the wild edible taste test procedure; nibble a small portion and spit out to see if its the right plant, All non edible versions will be bitter, not to mention they do not even look like this version, except Dogbane of course, the Common Milkweed will be sweet, even the milk, this is also a conformation that the right plant has been identified.

[@amaineac2133]

The green outside taste like string beans the inside taste like corn. Tried it at a dorm in Orino Maine.

[@TheMrhycannon]

The-mature-silk-can-be-used-as-insulation-in-place-of-down..

[@Snowwarrior]

Great video

[@monabo1]

Awesome video.

[@garyjohnson9037]

Great show, I've always hoped someone would put on some thing exactly like this, beautiful, an for someone who is dyslexic this help one to absorb the info with great advice..thank you, Peace

[@BoingotheClown]

I have often eaten milkweed pods, although I usually chop them before boiling. I have eaten small numbers of young pods with no ill effect, although never more than a few at a time. The flavour is very similar to snow peas. Newly blossomed flowers also taste like snow peas, but are much sweeter. However, as the flowers get older, they tend to become dry and unpleasant. Again, I have never had more than a few at a time, so I have not noticed any effects.

[@0nman]

Milk weed milk, apply where you have splinter,let it dry and then peel off..splinter will come off. Milk weed flowers...my mom will dry them, make powder with salt,citric acid and cumin powder...mix it, make a dough and then make little balls,dry...very good for helping digestion, and constipation.

[@googiesfairyfarm4834]

I’m growing red and orange butterfly weed (aka: blood flower) in my front yard and I can tell you the sap is not clear but milky just like common milkweed. It can also burn and eventually numb your skin if you get it on your face or any other sensitive area.

[@kleineroteHex]

Kinda like poke😊 cook well, change water. Your pods remind me of pickles!

[@paulamalone2107]

Thank you for pointing out the caterpillars are only able to eat milkweed!

[@jimothyj2638]

That shot at 2:32... wow! What kind of drone did you use?

[@bluesap7318]

I used it to make a shirt years ago felt good.

[@Wisconsin.pikachu]

Been watching a few of your videos and surprised how many of these grow near me and never knew it was edible (had milkwwed in our fields and had black walnut and white pine around our house and cat tails in our fields near a creek)

[@monke.2191]

[@NGartplay]

It's also what Monarchs eat. Milkweed is disappearing as a food source for those butterflies.

[@NGartplay]

I wrote too quickly as you do mention this.

[@repairdrive]

Awesome video! I see those all the time on my walks in Chicagoland and wondered what they were.

[@___LC___]

repairdrive They are desperately needed to sustain the dwindling monarch butterfly population, as humans killed off most of the milkweed. If you are around Chicago, they likely were planted intentionally by groups seeking to save the Great Lakes Monarchs.

[@johnburakowski61]

My dad used to use the sap to treat poison ivy when he was a child .

[@suzanneparrish1849]

I love you, too! However, I'm confused about the rest of the pod; do we only eat the inside, and not the outside?

[@songyiworld]

i love this video. vey interesting and informational. thank you

[@mikesowder2597]

I bet they taste better than tide pods!!

[@mishap00]

In addition they smell amazing when in bloom, but they will take over your garden. Funny thing I saw them advertised in a plant catalog calling it a parrot plant showing the green seed pod. I laughed thinking that they will do anything to sell a plant.

[@virgilchristopherson3626]

Thank You for the information, I never knew you could eat the young pods, I'll try them.

[@surfingwithsnakes]

Never fails to amaze me

[@OutOfNamesToChoose]

Milkweed! On an open field, Ned!

[@AnnaLVajda]

I always heard they were toxic and farmers pull them so cows don't eat them and get sick but they are the only thing Monarch butterflies eat so I wish people would plant more for them.

[@ActNaturally]

This is awesome!! Thanks for the information!! +1 LIKE

[@brianspencer4220]

Very well done video I just got some milkweed seeds that after freezing for 3 months I intend to plant next spring. Brian 77

[@trevorreilly963]

I have used dogbane to make string

[@ZomBeeNature]

I boiled some milkweed once a few years ago and ate it. I didn't like it because it is bitter. But other people won't mind it. There is not much milkweed around so I think a few people eating would eat all of it.

[@___LC___]

Zom Bee Nature Yes, humans have decimated the milkweed population and in turn the Monarch butterfly population. We need to be letting the pods mature and the seeds planted in areas where they won't be mowed or sprayed with pesticides.

[@JamesEnTennessee]

Thanks for sharing.

[@divinehammer1669]

Excellent. Thank You!

[@superjeffstanton]

Awesome!

[@markvezina7002]

What area of Ontario are you from. I’m from cambrigde Ontario. I’m just curious to differences in plant life. Your videos are amazingly resourceful. Great detail. Cheers LNR

[@FatherAndSonFun]

Another Awesome informative video! 👍

[@joyreinhardt7621]

Yes, very well done !

[@PRISCILAESTER7101]

Legal amo seus videos

[@grantkeller8024]

What does boiling it due besides eliminate any health benefits...?

[@vanessamctaggart5002]

hey did you know that monarch lay's eggs on the milkweed pod's i have found 2 eggs on my plant to let you know

[@oktoberskyy8661]

Keep it up ..❤❤lovee this

[@legobeybladebros5263]

THANK YOU! I nwever knew that milkweed was edible!

[@___LC___]

LegoBeyblade BROS The pods are needed to plant more milkweed, or the monarch will go extinct.

[@Freestyle420z]

Excellent.... universe knowledge :)

[@___LC___]

In North America we are having a problem with the loss of sufficient milkweed to support the monarch population. (Some milkweed varieties have sets of three leaves and are not common milkweed.) We really need to plant more milkweed and not eat the seed pods. So, while it is edible at a certain stage, it is needed to maintain our dwindling Monarch population. Note: that milk contains latex.

[@AhJodie]

Interesting, I always let them grow in my yard, will have to try eating them!

[@TheTomBevis]

Speaking of possibly toxic edible plants, have you had polk weed? It's delicious.

[@maj8301]

Do you mean "Poke" weed?

[@TommyBrown-Joliet]

So now I'm going to eat them and be competing with butterflies for this food source. 🤣🤣

[@kitkatsouthern2024]

I don't think they eat the pods, just the leaves. The plant will keep producing more flowers until it successfully makes seeds. Just give them time to produce a crop at the end of the year 😁

[@willahern9601]

Are these all New England plants to look for like Connecticut

[@vincentfloyd4344]

Was wondering if you had the nutritional value of the milk plant by chance? Love your vidieos!!!

[@chrismontgomery1521]

In the south we have what you call poke salad,it is also toxic but prepared. Right it is edible

[@ayejay8862]

Great video. I've been growing A. tuberosa for some years now, but also started A. Syriaca. One thing about monarch caterpillars. It seems to be a myth that milkweed is the only plant the caterpillars eat. Though it is undoubtedly their favorite and since they hatch on the plant, it is what you'd normally find them eating. However, last year I found a couple of the caterpillars eating the feathery leaves of a fennel plant that was near the milkweed in my garden. Just to make sure, I got a close-up look, and they were eating. The leaf was disappearing in their mouths! I was like "Hey wait! You're not supposed to be eating that. The rule book says...!" lol.

[@___LC___]

Aye Jay They will eat a few other plants if they can't find milkweed, which they can smell from miles away. On fennel, though, it was likely a swallowtail larva, which is also green.

[@thraciangrapes]

We had these on our farm too.

[@ericcairo657]

It would be nice to also know the mineral and vitamin content but great job overall.

[@zebanshee2959]

are the monarch caterpillars edible?

[@WhoFramedMSG]

I love your vids.

[@waberoid]

I remember once I was playing with a friend and some of the sap got under my knee and I developed a hell of a rash.

[@___LC___]

Waberoid Latex allergy?

[@TheDjcjh]

Just let you know i raised monarch caterpillars bc they only have 10% in the wild so when you say leave them alone they might die so i say take them and put them in little house to keep them safe and feed them milkweed and they will turn into a beautiful buttefly