Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
as·cle·pi·as Pronunciation:
&-'sklE-pE-&s, a- Function:
noun 1 capitalized : a genus (familyAsclepiadaceae) of perennial herbs found chiefly in No. America with flowers having a corona of five concave hoods each of which bears a slender horn —see
BUTTERFLY WEED, MILKWEED
2 : any plant of the genus Asclepias
3 : the dried root of the butterfly weed formerly used as a diaphoretic and expectorant called also pleurisy root
Aesculapius —see STAFF OF AESCULAPIUS
