Asclepias \As*cle"pi*as\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, named from Asclepios or Aesculapius.]

(Bot.) A genus of plants including the milkweed, swallowwort, and some other species having medicinal properties.

Asclepias butterfly (Zo["o]l.), a large, handsome, red and black butterfly (Danais Archippus), found in both hemispheres. It feeds on plants of the genus Asclepias.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)