Common names:

English: Madame Boivin weed, Calypso, Butterfly grass, Milkweed, Curacao milkweed, Bastard Ipeca, Ipeca savanne, Little Ipecca, Gold Wadding basket, Quadrille, Wadding grass, Blood flower

Créole : zèb papiyon, Zèb Man Bwaven, Matac, Épika, ti kadri, kadri, zèb a wat, ipéka bata, ipéka savann, papiyon, kòton kadwi

English: Mexican butterfly weed, Scarlet milkweed, Silkweed, blood flower, Tropical milk weed, Indian root, Red head, wild ipecacuana, Red milkweed, Cotton bush, Red top, Indian root, red head, Johanna, poison, Johanna, sheep poison, wild ipecacuanha, Orange milkweed Spanish: Yerba de mariposas, plantanillo, plantanillo matizado, algodoncillo, viborana, semiseda, Venenillo, Vivorana, Cadrio, Codio, Crodio, iutak-bey, Ipéka, Madan Bouven, Senorita, bibom, Kittie Macwanie, Pwentan, Coralito, Flor de duende, leche de sapo, Yucillo, Yuquilla, Corcalito, Flor de sangre, Mata troy, Official of the room

Portuguese: Bastard pecacuanha

German: Seidenplanze​​

FAMILY

ASCLEPIADACEAE

ETYMOLOGY

Asklêpios is the Greek god of medicine and curassavica indicates the origin: Curacao, an island in the Caribbean.

ORIGIN

Tropical America

 

HABITAT

- Xerophilic meadows.

- Likes shaded and dry places, the edges of paths and degraded places at medium altitude.

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DESCRIPTION

Perennial plant, erect stems, little branched and slightly woody, remarkable for the color and shape of its flowers. Toxic latex. Size: 1 m

Simple, opposite, oblong and acuminate leaves. Size: 10-15 cm x 2-4 cm.

Flowers grouped in terminal umbels. 5 red petals, folded and topped with an orange crown.

Size: 5-10 cm.

Bloom all year round in Guadeloupe.

Cigar-shaped fruits narrow. Lets out at maturity seeds filled at the top of a white silk tuft. Size: 5-6 cm

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NEEDS

- Supports all climates but prefers moderate or dry ones.

- Light watering

- Any type of soil

- Exposure: semi-shade, full sun

- Hardiness: 10°C

CULTURE

Easy, fast growth.

Bring it in winter into a bright room, minimum 10°C and reduce watering.

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MAINTENANCE

Maintenance size, regular intake of compost.

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PESTS AND DISEASES

Sensitive to monarch caterpillars, mites and aphids.

MULTIPLICATION

Sowing or cutting of heads.

- Easy sowing.

- Propagation substrate.

- Soak the seeds 24h in hot water. Sow at 1-2mm, tamp lightly and keep moist.

- Place in a sunny spot. Transplant 4 leaves with Sade.

- Emergence: 1-3 weeks

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USES

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DANGERS

The latex it contains can cause irritation. Do not use internally, toxic plant.

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ORNAMENTAL USE

Very beautiful indoor plant. Can be planted as an isolated subject or as a border. It can be cultivated as an annual in temperate climates.

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OTHER USES

Insecticide (Decoction of leaves to repel mosquitoes and decoction of fresh seeds as nematicide of crops). Cut flower.

ANECDOTES​

- Most of its vernacular names are due to its ancient reputation as an emetic (vomitive), such as the Ipecac.

- This plant attracts the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus).

- Good melliferous and nectariferous plant, spreads very quickly.

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SOURCES

- Plantes médicinales caribéennes - Dr Longuefosse - Ed Orphie - T2 P101

- Plantes, milieux et paysages des Antilles françaises - Claude Sastre et Anne Breuil - Ed Parthénope collection - P128 et 543

- Mon jardin tropical - Aline Ternisien et Fabrice Le Bellec - Ed Orphie - P238

- Plantes tropicales à l’état sauvage et acclimatées - Jens G. Rohwer - Ed Delachaux et Niestlé - P 142

- Flore Illustrée des phanérogames de Guadeloupe & Martinique - Jacques Fournet - Ed Gondwana, CIRAD - T1 P1161

- https://www.adopteunpapillon.com/plantes/asclepias-curassavica

- Floratoxica - Plantes toxiques ou a usage délicat de Martinique te de Guadeloupe - Michel Galtier, André Exbrayat, Emmanuel Nossin - Ed Exbrayat - P72