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Late July.<br /> | Late July.<br /> | ||
[ | [[File:Gomphocarpus fruticosus 1 .JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | ||
Flowers late July.<br /> | Flowers late July.<br /> | ||
[ | [[File:1 Gomphocarpus fruticosus.JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | ||
Late July<br /> | Late July<br /> | ||
[ | [[File:Gomphocarpus fruticosus 2 .JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | ||
January<br /> | January<br /> | ||
[[File:Asclepias physocarpa Swan plant -011.JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | |||
The flowers (January New Plymouth)<br /> | The flowers (January New Plymouth)<br /> | ||
[ | [[File:Swan plant Asclepias physocarpa -001.JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | ||
[ | [[File:Swan plant Asclepias physocarpa -002.JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | ||
The seed pods.January. NB Monarch caterpillar <br /> | The seed pods.January. NB Monarch caterpillar <br /> | ||
[ | [[File:Swan plant Asclepias physocarpa -003.JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | ||
The exploded capsule showing the seeds and their silky pappus which are dispersed by the wind. [ | The exploded capsule showing the seeds and their silky pappus which are dispersed by the wind. [[File:Asclepias physocarpa Swan plant-001.JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | ||
The leaves.<br /> | The leaves.<br /> | ||
[ | [[File:Asclepias physocarpa -014.JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | ||
Monarch on a Swan plant<br /> | Monarch on a Swan plant<br /> | ||
[ | [[File:Asclepias physocarpa Swan plant -003.JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | ||
Monarch caterpillar on Swan plant<br /> | Monarch caterpillar on Swan plant<br /> | ||
[ | [[File:Monarch Danaus plexippus-13.JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] | ||
[ | [[File:Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus-003.JPG|frameless|upright 2.25]] <br /> | ||
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | ||
Latest revision as of 13:49, 24 September 2019
Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Genus: Gomphocarpus
Species: G. physocarpus
Binomial name: Gomphocarpus physocarpus and Gomphocarpus fruticosus
Synonyms: Asclepias physocarpa, Asclepias brasiliensis, Gomphocarpus brasiliensis
Common names: Swan plant, Swanplant, Balloon plant, Balloon cotton-bush, Balloonplant, Family Jewels, Monkeyballs, Oscar, Hairy Balls, Giant Swan Milkweed.
Gomphocarpusis is a species of milkweed. The plants are native to southeast Africa, but they have been widely naturalised. They are often used as an ornamental plant. The name "balloon plant" is an allusion to the swelling bladder-like pods which are full of seeds.
These undershrub perennial herbs can grow to over 2 m in height. The plants bloom in warmer months. They prefer moderate moisture, as well as sandy and well-drained soil and full sun.
The flowers are small, with white hoods and about 1 cm across. The capsule is a pale green and the shape of an inflated sphere. It is covered with rough hairs. It reaches 8 cm in diameter. The leaves are light green, linear to lanceolate and up to 10 cm long, 1.2 cm broad. The seeds have silky tufts (pappus).
The plants are a food source for the caterpillars of Danaus butterflies, and is a specific Monarch butterfly food and habitat plant. It is also popular in traditional medicine to cure various ailments. All of the milkweeds are named for a milky sap in the plant's stem and leaves. After the Monarch caterpillar has metamorphosed into a butterfly, the alkaloids from the sap they ingested from the plant are retained in the butterfly, making it unpalatable to predators.
Late July.
Flowers late July.
Late July
January
The flowers (January New Plymouth)
The seed pods.January. NB Monarch caterpillar
The exploded capsule showing the seeds and their silky pappus which are dispersed by the wind. 
The leaves.
Monarch on a Swan plant
Monarch caterpillar on Swan plant
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
