Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is often viewed as a weed because of its tenacious and invasive tendencies. Others categorize it as a beneficial wildflower as it is an important source of nectar for bees, moths, and hummingbirds and it is the only plant that hosts the entire life cycle of the monarch butterfly.
Milkweed gets its name from the sticky white sap that it excretes. The sap is composed of latex, alkaloids, and cardiac glycoside which is toxic to livestock, but is used by the monarch butterfly as a clever defense system.
Despite the potentially harmful sap, milkweed is well documented as an edible wild food. Foragers regard the young spring shoots as a delicacy. The leaves, flowers, and young pods are all edible and abundant. The sap can be drawn out by blanching in boiling water.
Although I haven't tried the leaves, I can attest that the young pods (harvested at 1-2" long) are quite delicious. When blanched, they have a nice crunch and mild green apple-meets-cucumber flavor. The flowers have a pleasant sweet taste and were once used by indigenous people to make a type of sugar.
Playing with Fire and Water 