Giant Milk-Weed

Calotropis gigantea

Also known as Giant Swallow wort Madar Plant, Bowstring hemp, Crown Flower, Giant Calotrope

TreeoutdoorMedicinal

About Giant Milk-Weed

Calotropis gigantea, the crown flower, is a species of Calotropis native to India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Pakistan, and Nepal. It is a large shrub growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall. It has clusters of waxy flowers that are either white or lavender in colour. Each flower consists of five pointed petals and a small "crown" rising from the center which holds the stamens. The aestivation found in calotropis is valvate i.e. sepals or petals in a whorl just touch one another at the margin, without overlapping. The plant has oval, light green leaves and milky stem. The latex of Calotropis gigantea contains cardiac glycosides, fatty acids, and calcium oxalate.

Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Calotropis gigantea
Genus: Calotropis
Family: ASCLEPIADACEAE
Habit: Tree
Distribution: India, Sri Lanka, Tropical Himalayas, Malaysia, S. China, Pakistan, Maldives
Flowering & fruiting: Throughout the year
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Local Names

Hindi: Safed aak सफ़ैद आक
Nepali: आंक Aank, अर्क Ark, मदार Madaar
Tamil: எருக்கு Erukku
Telugu: జిల్లేడి పువ్వు Jilledi Puvvu
Kannada: Yekke gida, Ekke gida ಎಕ್ಕೆ ಗಿಡ Ekka ಎಕ್ಕ

Botanical family

Asclepiadaceae

Milkweed Family

Giant Milk-Weed belongs to the Asclepiadaceae family.

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

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