Flower profile

Honey-vine climbing milkweed

Cynanchum laeve

Native in the lower 48

Honey-vine climbing milkweed is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 5 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in June–September.

26states

5of our state lists

6,760U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma

Quick look

Cynanchum laeve is a vining perennial herb native to eastern and central U.S. states and Ontario. Common names include sand vine, honeyvine, honeyvine milkweed, bluevine milkweed, climbing milkweed, and smooth swallow-wort. The root system of C. laeve can cause it to be very difficult to eradicate, especially in agricultural fields. It is a larval food of monarch butterflies and milkweed tussock moth larvae. C.
From Wikipedia's article Cynanchum laeve, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Apocynaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) / a vine with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 26 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as native to Missouri, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. ^NatureServe
In Missouri, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in June–September. ^iNaturalist
In Kentucky, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in June–September. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 701 research-grade sightings of it in Missouri, ranking #97 among the 109 flowers on our Missouri list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 623 research-grade sightings of it in Kentucky, ranking #101 among the 110 flowers on our Kentucky list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 467 research-grade sightings of it in Oklahoma, ranking #75 among the 110 flowers on our Oklahoma list. ^iNaturalist

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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (669 records)

Bloom time in each of our 5 states

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Missouri	Native	June–September	701
Kentucky	Native	June–September	623
Oklahoma	Native	few records	467
Kansas	Native	few records	443
Nebraska	Native	July–September	222

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
Missouri: Not listed Not on Missouri Wildlife Code endangered species (3 CSR 10-4.111), plants. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Missouri. ^{3 CSR 10-4.111}
Kentucky: Not listed Not on Kentucky endangered and threatened plant lists (400 KAR 3:040, eff. 2026). NatureServe: S5, secure in Kentucky. ^{400 KAR 3:040}
Oklahoma: No list Oklahoma has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Oklahoma ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Oklahoma.
Kansas: No list Kansas's endangered and threatened list (K.A.R. 115-15-1) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's Kansas ranks for plants. NatureServe: S5, secure in Kansas.
Nebraska: Not listed Not on Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Nebraska. ^{163 NAC 4-004}
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records honey-vine climbing milkweed in 26 states plus Washington, D.C.

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recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia; District of Columbia.

Missouri counties with USDA records: Adair, Andrew, Atchison, Barton, Bates, Benton, Boone, Buchanan, Caldwell, Callaway, Cape Girardeau, Carroll, Carter, Cass, Cedar, Chariton, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cole, Cooper, Crawford, Daviess, DeKalb, Dunklin, Franklin, Gasconade, Gentry, Greene, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Hickory, Holt, Howard, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lewis, Lincoln, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Madison, Marion, McDonald, Miller, Mississippi, Moniteau, Montgomery, Morgan, New Madrid, Nodaway, Osage, Pemiscot, Pettis, Pike, Platte, Polk, Pulaski, Ralls, Randolph, Ray, Ripley, Saline, Shelby, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Taney, Vernon, Washington, Wayne, Worth.

Kentucky counties with USDA records: Anderson, Ballard, Boone, Bourbon, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Caldwell, Calloway, Campbell, Carlisle, Carroll, Clark, Edmonson, Estill, Fayette, Fleming, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Grant, Graves, Hardin, Harrison, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Hopkins, Jackson, Jefferson, Kenton, Madison, Marshall, Mason, McCracken, McLean, Meade, Mercer, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Ohio, Owen, Pendleton, Powell, Robertson, Rowan, Scott, Spencer, Todd, Union, Warren, Washington, Woodford.

Oklahoma counties with USDA records: Cherokee, Delaware, Muskogee.

More Missouri flowers

Common milkweed

Asclepias syriaca

Native

🌼 Blooms in MO: May–July

Butterfly milkweed

Asclepias tuberosa

Native

🌼 Blooms in MO: May–August

Swamp milkweed

Asclepias incarnata

Native

🌼 Blooms: June–August

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile CYLA.
iNaturalist, Cynanchum laeve: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Cynanchum laeve (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Missouri: Missouri Wildlife Code endangered species (3 CSR 10-4.111), plants.
Missouri: Missouri noxious weed list (2 CSR 70-45.005).
Kentucky: Kentucky endangered and threatened plant lists (400 KAR 3:040, eff. 2026).
Kentucky: Kentucky noxious weeds and invasive plants on state rights-of-way (KRS 176.051; species list from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet).
Oklahoma: Oklahoma Noxious Weed Law (2 O.S. § 3-220).
Kansas: Kansas noxious weeds (K.A.R. 4-8-44, as amended 2026).
Nebraska: Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004).
Nebraska: Nebraska noxious weeds (25 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 10, § 001.02).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Cynanchum laeve (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Yann Kemper via iNaturalist · CC0 · resized.