Asclepias curassavica
Apocynaceae FAMILY

Asclepias curassavica

Asclepias curassavica

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

The root contains a glycoside, asclepiadin, which is emetic and purgative - in large doses it can cause death[1]. The plant is suspected to be poisonous to grazing animals[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Succeeds in a range of climates from warm temperate to tropical. Requires a well-drained soil and a sunny position[2]. Succeeds on a wide range of soils[3]. The plant has very light, plumed seeds that can be carried considerable distances in the wind. It has often escaped from cultivation and has become a weed throughout the tropics[2, 3].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow and make sure the seeds are kept moist[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Asclepias+curassavica>

Pollinators

Wasps, Bees, Butterflies

References

  1. [1]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  4. [4]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  5. [5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  6. [6]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region