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Webster 1913 Edition
Asclepias
‖
As-cle′pi-as
,Noun.
[L., fr. Gr. [GREEK], named from
Asclepios
or Aesculapius
.] (Bot.)
A genus of plants including the milkweed, swallowwort, and some other species having medicinal properties.
Asclepias butterfly
(Zool.)
, a large, handsome, red and black butterfly (
Danais Archippus
), found in both hemispheres. It feeds on plants of the genus Asclepias.