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.