asclepias

As*cle"pi*as, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Asclepios or Aesculapius.] (Bot.) Defn: A genus of plants including the milkweed, swallowwort, and some other species having medicinal properties. Asclepias butterfly (Zoöl.), a large, handsome, red and black butterfly (Danais Archippus), found in both hemispheres. It feeds on plants of the genus Asclepias.

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