The USDA reports that numerous American Indian tribes boiled and ate milkweed roots, shoots and buds. Wild-food enthusiasts typically boil and eat the shoots or buds of immature common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), which is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 10. They discard the boiled water and avoid eating mature stems, leaves, pods and seeds. It is not worth the effort of repeated boiling and rinsing the shoots and buds of other milkweed species to remove their bitterness. Common milkweed is slightly toxic to humans, but only if eaten in large amounts, according to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center at Ohio State University. If you eat large amounts of improperly prepared milkweed of any species, you may experience bloating, fever, difficulty breathing, dilated pupils and muscle spasms, and the result can be fatal.