Asclepias curassavica
Common Names: scarlet milkweed, bloodflower, silkweed, Indian root
Family: Asclepiadaceae (milkweed Family)
Description
Scarlet milkweed is an erect, evergreen perennial sub shrub, often
grown as an annual. Like most milkweeds, it has opposite leaves and
milky sap. The leaves are about 5 in (12.7 cm) long, narrowly
elliptic, and pointed at both ends. Scarlet milkweed gets about 3-4
ft (0.6-0.9 m) tall and usually has a few pairs of symmetrical
branches. The flowers are orange and red and borne in terminal and
axillary clusters that are 2-4 in (5.1-10.2 cm) across. It blooms
continuously from spring until autumn. The fruits are spindle shaped
pods, 3-4 in (7.6-10.2 cm) long, that eventually split open to
release little flat seeds that drift away on silky parachutes. A
cultivar with yellow flowers is available.
Location
Scarlet milkweed is native to South America but has become a
naturalized weed in tropical and subtropical pastures, fields and
disturbed areas throughout the world, including central and southern
Florida.
Culture
Scarlet milkweed is easy to grow, thriving in dry, moist, and even
wet soils. The leaves are sometimes attacked by aphids which produce
an excrement (called honeydew!) which is in turn colonized by a
grayish black fungus called sooty mold. None of this is
life-threatening to the milkweed, and eventually some other
predators (such as ladybugs) will come along and polish off the
aphids. If you do want to intervene in nature's drama, the aphids
are easily washed off with a stream of water or suffocated with
horticultural oil or a mild solution of dishwashing detergent.
Light: Full sun to partial shade.
Moisture: Regular garden watering is adequate. Scarlet milkweed does
fine without supplemental watering in the eastern US.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 8B - 11. Scarlet milkweed remains evergreen in
zones 9B-11, but if it does freeze to the ground, it usually comes
back in spring. In cooler climates it can be grown as an annual.
Propagation: Scarlet milkweed can be started from cuttings, and it
grows quickly from seed.
yellow bloodflower
This is a variety of scarlet milkweed with yellow flowers - maybe it
sounds less dumb calling it by its other common name yellow
bloodflower (or maybe not). Download a large version (800x600) of
this image.
Usage
Use scarlet milkweed in perennial borders and meadow gardens. Its
dependable bright orange and red flowers stand out against the dark
green foliage. Scarlet milkweed is a thin, unobtrusive little plant
that can be squeezed in among other perennials and shrubs and still
counted on to show off its pretty flowers. Butterflies and other
nectar-sipping insects are attracted to the blossoms, and both
monarch and queen butterflies lay their eggs on scarlet milkweed (as
well as on other milkweeds, including the southeastern native,
butterflyweed, A. tuberosa). The dried pods are used in
arrangements.
Features
Most flowers have a ring of sepals, collectively called a calyx, and
above that a ring of petals, collectively called a corolla. The
milkweeds have an additional ring of appendages that sits above the
corolla like a crown; it is called a corona. Daffodils (Narcissus
spp.) have a corona, too. In scarlet milkweed, the corolla is
usually crimson and the corona is orange.
WARNING
All milkweeds are poisonous if ingested, and the milky sap is a skin
irritant. The butterflies whose caterpillars feed on milkweeds
contain the same poisonous glycosides and are poisonous as well. |
