Asclepiadaceae Asclepias subverticillata (Gray) Vail
Whorled Milkweed
Zuni - Fiber, Cordage
Use documented by:
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe, 1915, Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians, SI-BAE Annual Report #30, page 88
View all documented uses for
Asclepias subverticillata (Gray) Vail
Scientific name: Asclepias subverticillata (Gray) Vail
USDA symbol: ASSU2 (
View details at USDA PLANTS site)
Common names: Whorled Milkweed
Family: Asclepiadaceae
Family (APG): Apocynaceae
Native American Tribe: Zuni
Use category: Fiber
Use sub-category: Cordage
Notes: Coma made into cords and used for fastening plumes to the prayer sticks. The sticks were used as offerings and were planted in the fields and in sacred springs. An excavation was made in the bed of the spring in which the offerings were deposited with a stone attached and covered with soil from the bottom.
RECRD: 32962 id: 6273