The large, bright, pink terminal blossoms of this tall, showy perennial are made up of small pink flowers. Flowers clustered at the top of a tall, branching stem, bearing numerous narrow, lanceolate leaves. Opposite, narrow, lance-shaped leaves line the erect, open-branched stem. Elongated, tan-brown seed pods persist into winter. The juice of this wetland milkweed is less milky than that of other species. The genus was named in honor of Aesculapius, Greek god of medicine, undoubtedly because some species have long been used to treat a variety of ailments. Incarnata meaning "flesh-colored," "rosy," or "pink-colored."