Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Asclepias curassavica

Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants key

Seed cases. Photographer H Zell, unknown place

Seeds released from seed case. Photographer H Zell, unknown place

Common name

Redhead Cottonbush, Blood Flower

Family

Apocynaceae

Where found

Woodland, grassy areas, disturbed sites, roadsides, wetlands, and along streams. Coastal, mainly north from Port Kembla.

Notes

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)