Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
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Asclepias curassavica
Redhead Cottonbush, Blood Flower
Apocynaceae
Woodland, grassy areas, disturbed sites, roadsides, wetlands, and along streams. Coastal, mainly north from Port Kembla.
Introduced shrub to 1 m high. Stems finely ribbed, hairy when young, becoming hairless with age. Leaves opposite each other, 3–18 cm long, 5–30 mm wide, soft, thin, hairless when mature, tips pointed. Flowers with a short tube and 5 dark red true petals each about 8 mm long at the base of the flower, turned back. Column in the centre of the flower (incorporating the style and stamens) 8–11 mm in diameter, orange-yellow, with a fleshy orange-yellow outgrowth at the top. Flowers usually in 5–9-flowered clusters. Flowers spring–autumn. Poisonous.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Asclepias~curassavica (accessed 3 January, 2021)
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