Cotine, Firesticks, Narrow-leaved cotton bush
Gomphocarpus fruticosus

Family: Apocynaceae

What it is like

A herb or small shrub. It can grow each year from seed or keep growing from year to year. It grows 2-4 m high. It has milky latex. The leaves are in pairs and are hairy. The leaf blade is 4-12 cm long by 1 cm wide. They are narrowly sword shaped. The flowers occur in groups or 4-7 in a nodding group along the stalk. They are hairy. The fruit are follicles. They are spindle shaped and 5-8 cm long by 2-3 cm wide. The seeds are dark and have cotton like hairs attached.

Also put in the family Asclepiadaceae.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. In grows in savannah grassland in Guinea. It is usually in sandy soil and often in soil that is occasionally waterlogged. It is often along the edges of rivers. In southern Africa it grows between 45-1,500 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa (country/location of origin), Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canary Is., Caucasus, Central Africa, China, Colombia, Crete, Cyprus, Djibouti, East Africa, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guinea, Guinée, India, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, North America, Oman, Reunion, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Spain, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Swaziland, Tasmania, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Türkiye, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The roots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. Caution: Several parts of the plant are poisonous.

Edible parts

Roots, fruit, caution, vegetable

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Fanoro, Gansies, Kapokbos, Khakhayi, Lebeyana, Melkbos, Motswamaswi, Mufuramvu, Musasasa, Oruseppa, Siriri, Suduluguru, Tondel, Tontelbos, Wilde kapok

Synonyms

Asclepias angustifolius Schweigg.; Asclepias rostrata N. E. Br.; Asclepias salicifolia Salisb.; Asclepias cornuta (Decne.) Cordem.; Asclepias crinita (Bertol.) N. E. Br.; Asclepias decipiens N. E. Br.; Asclepias fruticosa L.; Gomphocarpus cornutus Decne; Gomphocarpus crinitus Bertol.; Gomphocarpus frutescens E. Mey.; Gomphocarpus rostratus (N. E. Br.) Bullock; Gomphocarpus angustifolius (Schweigg.) Link; Gomphocarpus arachnoideus E. Fourn.;