Swallow-wort (Asclepias) is a genus of perennial herbs of the order Asclepiadaceae, native to the Americas. They are also known as milkweed and silkweed. The plants have a milky juice, and the leaves are usually opposite or in whorls. The flowers have the corolla deeply divided into five segments. Attached to the tube of the stamens are five hooded bodies, each with a hollow horn. Many of the species possess powerful medicinal qualities. Asclepias decumbens is diaphoretic and sudorific, and has the singular property of exciting general perspiration without increasing in any sensible degree the heat of the body. Research Swallow-Wort
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Abbreviations
Nature
Research Swallow-Wort
