Investigation

Asclepias stenophylla also known as Narrowleaved Milkweed by Keersten

1sagebrush11

Asclepias stenophylla. © 2008 1sagebrush11

Lakota Name: Tiŋsila Pejủta (means prairie turnip medicine)
sound iconListen to Lakota Plant Name: Tiŋsila Pejủta

Scientific Name: Asclepias stenophylla

Common Name: Narrowleaved milkweed

Medicinal uses: The root is given to children when they have no appetite.  Tiŋsila means wild turnip, and Pejủta means medicine from grass roots.

The narrowleaved milkweed is a popular plant, but it is becoming endangered in certain parts of the country. In Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota the plant is endangered (USDA Plants Database).

Description: The plant is up to 80 cm high rising from a thick, woody, root. The  narrowleaved milkweed is a perennial with a few erect and usually unbranched stems that are decumbent or upright. Foliage of the milkweed is moderately to sparsely hairy, and the sap is milky. The flowers are less than 0.5 inches long, have five oblong, pale green reflexed segments and five white hoods. The hoods have a 3-lobed tip. The middle lobe is triangular and shorter than the two lateral lobes. The fruits are in pods 4 to 5 inches long, erect on a downward-curved pedicel; many seeded.

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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Asclepias stenophylla. Courtesy of Kentucky Native Plant Society

Distribution: Asclepias stenophylla grows in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa,  Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The narrowleaved milkweed occurs sporadically throughout the black hills. Existing or potential threats are habitats being taken away from them, and people  picking them by mistake (USDA Plants Database).

Information on the Internet

References

Rogers, Dilwyn J. 1980. Lakota Names and Traditional Uses of Native Pants by Sicangu (Brule) People in the Rosebud Area, South Dakota. The Rosebud Educational Society, St. Francis, S. D.

Learning Information

About This Page

Author: 1sagebrush11
Classroom Project: Medicinal Plants of the Lakota Sioux
Lead-Deadwood High School
Lead, South Dakota United States

License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to , Lead-Deadwood High School

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