Asclepias cordifolia is a species of milkweed commonly called heart-leaf milkweed or purple milkweed (a common name shared with another milkweed, Asclepias purpurascens). It is native to the western United States (California, Nevada, Oregon), growing between 50 to 2,000 m (160 to 6,560 ft) elevation in the northern Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges. Heart-leaf milkweed was valued by the Native American Miwok tribe for its stems, which they dried and processed into string and rope.