Is aak (madar) poisonous?

Yes — the milky latex is irritant and the plant is toxic if eaten, so it should be handled with care despite its ritual and traditional-medicine associations.

Why is aak offered to Lord Shiva?

Aak flowers and leaves are traditional offerings to Shiva and Hanuman in many parts of India, and the plant is commonly found growing near temples on open ground.

✿Asclepiadaceae · Calotropis

Madar / Giant Milk-Weed

Calotropis gigantea

Also known as Giant Swallow Wort Madar Plant, Bowstring Hemp, Crown Flower, Giant Calotrope

TreeoutdoorMedicinal

Habit: Tree
Found in India: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra & more
Flowering: Throughout the year

Identify this plant with SASYA

How to identify Madar

Identify Madar by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.

Look for a tree habit.
Check the distinctive field mark: Large grey-green leaves, milky latex, crown-shaped purple flowers.
Confirm leaf shape: Broad oval.
Confirm flower colour: White.
Confirm flower arrangement: Umbel.
Use the leaf pattern: opposite leaf arrangement, simple leaves, entire leaf margins, pinnate venation.
In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Calotropis gigantea
Genus: Calotropis
Family: Asclepiadaceae
Habit: Tree
Distribution: India, Sri Lanka, Tropical Himalayas, Malaysia, S. China, Pakistan, Maldives
Found in India: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Goa, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Puducherry, Haryana, Tripura, Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Chandigarh, Punjab, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Himachal Pradesh
Flowering & fruiting: Throughout the year
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Leaf characters

Leaf shape: Broad ovalrecorded

Typical of the family

Arrangement: Opposite
Type: Simple
Margin: Entire
Venation: Pinnate

Characters marked “recorded” are for Madar itself; the rest are typical of the Asclepiadaceae family.

Flower & fruit characters

Flower colour: Whiterecorded“Flower-buds ovoid, angled, Calyx lobes 5, divided to the base, white, ovate;” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Flower arrangement: UmbelrecordedFlower stalks all radiate from a single point, like umbrella ribs.“Inflorescence : Umbellate cymes.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fruit type: FolliclerecordedA dry pod that splits open along a single seam.“Fruit : A pair of follicles with many, hairy seeds.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Typical of the family

Flower symmetry: Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
Inflorescence: Cyme
Fruit: Follicle

Characters marked “recorded” are for Madar itself; the rest are typical of the Asclepiadaceae family — flowering plants only.

Local Names

Hindi: Safed aak सफ़ैद आक, madar,अर्क ark,मदार madar
Nepali: आंक Aank, अर्क Ark, मदार Madaar
Tamil: எருக்கு Erukku, ஏருக்கு
Telugu: జిల్లేడి పువ్వు Jilledi Puvvu, జిల్లేడు
Kannada: Yekke gida, Ekke gida ಎಕ್ಕೆ ಗಿಡ Ekka ಎಕ್ಕ, ಎಕ
Malayalam: എരുക്ക്
Marathi: मंदार
Gujarati: આંકડો
Punjabi: ਅਕ
Urdu: اک
Sinhala: වරා

Madar in India

Aak or madar is a hardy shrub of dry wasteland and roadsides across India — Safed aak सफ़ैद आक (Hindi), எருக்கு Erukku (Tamil), జిల్లేడి పువ్వు Jilledi Puvvu (Telugu), Yekke gida (Kannada), എരുക്ക് (Malayalam), मंदार (Marathi). Calotropis gigantea is recorded across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala, thriving on the most neglected, sun-baked ground.

Uses

Its flowers are offered to Shiva and Hanuman and are strung into garlands at certain temples. The plant has many attributed uses in folk medicine, but its milky sap is an irritant and the plant is toxic, so any such use is traditional and not advice.

How to Identify Madar

A stout shrub with thick, pale grey-green oval leaves coated in a fine waxy bloom. The waxy, star-shaped flowers are dusty white to lilac with a distinctive central crown. Every broken part bleeds copious white latex, and the inflated pods split to release silky-tufted seeds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Giant Milk-Weed called in different Indian languages?: Safed aak सफ़ैद आक (Hindi); எருக்கு Erukku (Tamil); జిల్లేడి పువ్వు Jilledi Puvvu (Telugu); Yekke gida (Kannada); എരുക്ക് (Malayalam); मंदार (Marathi); આંકડો (Gujarati); ਅਕ (Punjabi).
Is aak (madar) poisonous?: Yes — the milky latex is irritant and the plant is toxic if eaten, so it should be handled with care despite its ritual and traditional-medicine associations.
Why is aak offered to Lord Shiva?: Aak flowers and leaves are traditional offerings to Shiva and Hanuman in many parts of India, and the plant is commonly found growing near temples on open ground.

Botanical family

Asclepiadaceae

Milkweed Family

Madar belongs to the Asclepiadaceae family.

The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.

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Common plant problems

If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.

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More in Asclepiadaceae

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Sources: GBIF — Calotropis gigantea (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Calotropis gigantea (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Calotropis gigantea (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)