asclepias Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun genus of chiefly North American perennial herbs: silkweed; milkweed
    genus Asclepias.

WordNet

As*cle"pi*as noun
Etymology
L., fr. Gr. , named from Asclepios or Aesculapius.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A genus of plants including the milkweed, swallowwort, and some other species having medicinal properties.

Webster 1913