Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) grows in generally damp or wet places. Common Milkweed (Asclepias syrtiaca) also makes decent cordage, but it is nowhere near as strong as Swamp Milkweed. In fact, the fibers from most milkweeds can be made into cordage.

Swamp Milkweed fibers are extremely tough. In fact, a single fiber, about the thickness of a human hair, can actually cut into your skin!

The best time to collect Swamp Milkweed for cordage is after the plants have died in the fall. It is best if the outer skin of the stems has even started to flake off a bit. Don't wait too late in the winter, or the plant skin will have started to rot.

This page shows Swamp Milkweed in the various stages of growth, with detailed photos, so that you can identify it in the summer. Then you can go back in the late fall or winter to retrieve the fibers.

For more information about swamp Milkweed, see the Ontario Wildflowers website.

Here is the whole plant.

As you might have guessed, Swamp Milkweed likes growing in damp or wet open areas. It is found in marshes, the edges of ponds, wet fields.

Overall, this milkweed is slimmer and more "delicate" than the familiar Common Milkweed (which also makes decent cordage, but nowhere near as good as Swamp Milkweed!).