Blood Flower
Asclepias currasavica

Family: Apocynaceae

What it is like

Native to the American tropics. Grown as an ornamental garden plant and as a source of food for butterflies. Incorrect spelling in the database - should be Asclepias curassavica

Asclepias currasavica is an evergreen Perennial growing to 2 m (6ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Wasps, Bees, Butterflies. The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 2

Where it is found

Occurs most frequently in pastures, wastelands and along roadsides at elevations from sea level to over 1,500 metres.

Tropical S. America, but widely naturalized in many areas of the Tropics.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Ranging from southern North America through Central America and into South America. An introduced species in the US states of California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas, the US unincorporated territories of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Introduced and naturalized in the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, and Zhejiang, as well as in Taiwan.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

Medicine

Rating: 1

The latex of the plant as well as the roots, leaves, and flowers are used medicinally. The root is febrifuge. A decoction is used in the treatment of dysentery and as an eyewash for infected eyes. The root contains a glycoside, asclepiadin, which is used as an emetic and purgative. It has been used as a substitute for ipecacuanha. A paste made of the crushed leaves, combined with salt, vegetable oil and bread, is used for treating skin ulcers. The plant contains an abundant white latex which is applied to warts and corns in order to kill them. The juice of the whole plant is used to treat ringworm, sores, rashes, dermatitis etc. The plant is considered cicatrizant (healing cuts etc by encouraging the formation of scars). The aerial parts of plant are sometimes used in the treatment of dysentery and as an eyewash for infected eyes. The root contains cardenolides with aglycones such as asclepogenine and curassavogenine. The latex contains cardenolides and esterified triterpenes. Extracts stimulate the central nervous system. The latex also contains quercetin, caffeic acid, sterols, flavonoids, carbohydrates, fatty acids and acidic mucilage. The plant contains beta-sitosterol, which is antihypercholesterolemic (reduces cholesterol), anti-prostatic, and oestrogenic.

Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.

Other

Rating: 2

The stem fibres are used for spinning, partly in mixture with cotton. The seed hairs are used as a stuffing material for pillows. This is too elastic for spinning unless altered by chemical treatment after which it can be spun admixed with cotton. The stems are used, tied in bundles, as brooms. The dogbane-milkweed family Asclepias, Apocynum, Calotropis, and Trachomitum spp) has been used for fiber industrial crops for millennia with a number in cultivation as regional crops. All of these crops are dual-purpose fibres, offering bast fibres from the stem and seed finer or ‘floss’ in the fruit pods. Many have also been identified as potential hydrocarbon crops due to high latex content. Could be integrated into various agroforestry systems rather than as monocultures.

Industrial Crop: Fiber: Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!

Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon: Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.

Management: Hay: Cut to the ground and harvested annually. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Industrial Crop: Fiber: Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!

Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon: Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.

Management: Hay: Cut to the ground and harvested annually. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

How it is grown

Succeeds in a range of climates from warm temperate to tropical. Requires a well-drained soil and a sunny position. Succeeds on a wide range of soils. 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.

Propagating it: Seed - surface sow and make sure the seeds are kept moist.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

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

It has often escaped from cultivation and has become a weed throughout the tropics

Its other names

Local names

Tropical milkweed, bloodflower, blood flower, cotton bush, hierba de la cucaracha, Mexican butterfly weed, redhead, scarlet milkweed, and wild ipecacuanha.

Synonyms

Asclepias aurantiaca Salisb. Asclepias bicolor Moench Asclepias cubensis Wender. Asclepias margaritacea Hoffmanns. ex Schult. Asclepias nivea curassavica (L.) Kuntze. Asclepias curassavica (correct name)