230910 SB01
Bhatt Sweta
Family: Asclepediaceae
Location: Ghats of Kaas
Date: 17th Sept., 2010
Plant
Asclepias curassavica, commonly called Mexican Butterfly Weed, Blood-flower or Scarlet Milkweed, is and introduced species. It is grown as an ornamental garden plant and as a source of food for butterflies.
Typically an evergreen perennial that grow up to 1 m (3.3 ft) tall and have pale gray stems, native of tropical America, and widely dispersed throughout the tropics by man as an ornamental. The leaves are arranged oppositely on the stems and are lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate shaped ending in acuminate or acute tips. Like other members of the genus, the sap is milky.
The flowers are in cymes with 10-20 flowers each. The flowers have brilliant red, yellow or orange colored flowers. Asclepias curassavica is excellent in butterfly gardens or as a cut flower.Flowering occurs nearly year round.
The 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) long, fusiform shaped fruits are called follicles. The follicles contain tan to brown seeds that are ovate in shape and 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long. The flat seeds have silky hairs that allow the seeds to float on air currents when the pod-like follicles dehisce (split open).
Uses
The root contains a glycoside, asclepiadin, to which those properties are due. In large doses, it causes death, and the plant may be a suspect cattle-poison. The plant contains abundant white latex which is used in the Caribbean and in the Pacific basin on warts and corns. The plant is considered cicitrisant in Madagascar. The stems contain a fibre which can be spun. The seed-pods that contain floss surrounding the seeds, is too elastic for spinning unless altered by chemical treatment after which it can be spun admixed with cotton. In some places in West Africa, the stems are used tied in bundles as brooms. The floss can be used for filling pillows. Honey made from the plant in Guyana is reported bitter, dark and thick.
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tanay bose
Department of Botany.
University of British Columbia .
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Phone: 778-323-4036 (Mobile)