Dilip Walse Patil

Scientific Name : Asclepias curassavica L.

Category : Angiosperms

Status : Alive

Habit : An evergreen, perennial, suffruticose herbs. Stem : Erect, branched, herbaceous, solid, cylindrical, Pale, grey Leaves : Membranous, Simple, Opposite, short petiolate, exstipulate, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acuminate or acute tip, milky latex present, unicostate reticulate venation. Inflorescence : Umbellate Cymes. Flowers : Pedicellate, bracteates,Red-orange colored, small, bisexual, actinomorphic, hypogynous, pentamerous, cyclic. Sepals 5, polysepalous, imbricate or valvate aestivation, lanceolate, pubescent. Corolla purple or red; petals 5, gamopetalous, twisted aestivation, brightly coloured, lobes oblong, reflexed. The filaments of the androecium attached to the base of the corolla are united to form a column around the pistil, the anthers being pressed close to the styles; each stamen bears on the side away from the pistil and appendage which enfolds the anther like a hood; these appendages collectively form a corona. Corona lobes yellow or orange. Bicarpellary, syncarpous, ovary superior, gynostegium present, marginal placentation. Fruit : Follicles ovate-lanceolate, glabrous, beaked. Seeds : 0.4-0.6mm broadly ovate, glabrous, with silky-white coma. Flowering and Fruiting Time : Throughout the year. Significance : Found as ornamental in gardens. It is a food for many caterpillars. It also provides nectar for a wide variety of butterflies, pollinators, and hummingbirds.