Asclepias eriocarpa is native to California and adjacent parts of Nevada and Baja California, where it grows in many habitat types, especially dry areas. In California it is found primarily in the Coast Ranges from Mendocino County southward into Mexico, in the Sierra foothills, and in the northern part of the Central Valley. It is an erect perennial herb which is usually coated in a thick layer of white hairs. The leaves are lance-shaped to oval, rippled, and arranged oppositely in pairs or in whorls of 3 or 4. The flower cluster is a large umbel-like cluster of flowers. Each flower is white to cream and usually tinted with bright pink. It has a central array of rounded hoods and a corolla reflexed against the stalk. The fruit is a large, woolly follicle. The plant is used as a source of fiber and medicine by several California Indian groups, including the Ohlone and Luiseno. In the garden it makes a striking specimen, especially when massed. All milkweeds are important to monarch butterflies.