When I bought my property, I was delighted to see tons of Milkweed; only to find out that I had tons of Dog Bane instead of Milkweed. I've had to plant the Milkweed. I haven't found much of a use for the Dog Bane. It's supposed to be good for making cordage. Spreading Dog Bane
Can destroy a good pasture in a couple of seasons. I let it grow in the rockiest areas and remove it in the fertile pastures.
Eat the seed pods while they are still tender and before the inside turns to silk. I have added them to soup and they kind of reminded me of Okra but without all the slimy starch. You can eat the young shoots boiled but I have not tried them yet myself. Dog Bane can make you sick if eaten and does not form seed pods like Milkweed. Also the milky sap that gives it its name is actually kind of sweet and not bitter like some people claim. Those people probably sampled some Dog Bane they mistook for Milkweed.
I pretty much trust the wild things and my cattle. Nothing I know of will eat Milk Weed or anything within 3 inches of it.
Yeah, my Forager's Harvest book says that lots of people confused dog bane with milkweed. I bought milkweed seeds this year because of it's use as a wild edible, and the book also mentioned that milkweed fluff was used as a down substitute.
