Plants Mexico

Asclepiadaceae

Note: These plants can be dangerous if improperly used. The author, and/or ernestartist.org assume no liability for experimentation of use.

Plate 029 Plate 030

Ernestartist.org assumes no liability for experimental use of medicinal plants, food plants or herbal remedies.

Asclepias Curassavica:
Local names: Kittie McWanie, Blood Flower (St. Thomas); Matac (Dominican) Mexican whorled milkweed (Mexico), Scarlet milkweed, silkweed, Indian root, redhead cotton bush,

A slender erect weed,, this plant has bright red orange and yellow flowers borne terminally in cymes. The seed pods (not shown) are narrow and filled with brown seeds which have silky hairs. The stem and flower stalk contain a milky latex.

This plant is commonly found in the West Indies, and South America in pastures and neglected gardens from the coast to about 328 meters above sea level. Also found in abundance around the Oaxaca city area in abandoned fields and along canal banks.

Medicinal uses: This plant is toxic. Small, domestic livestock have died from eating it. The roots have were pounded into a useable extract which could be used to poison fish. In Jamaica, a poultice was used to treat ringworm or stop bleeding. The Caribs considered the root to be good medicine to reduce fevers, and in Africa it has been used for intestinal troubles with children.

In Western Canada and USA, similar species of Asclepias have been used to (milky sap) eliminate warts and skin parasites, and the roots used in decoctions for constipation, venereal disease, kidney stones, asthma, and even cancer. In the 1880's, Native Americans used the plant as a contraceptive and snakebite remedy.

Asclepias curassavica is employed in the West Indies as an emetic, and goes by the name of Ipecacuanha: the drug known in medicine by that name is derived from quite a different plant and must not be confused with it.

The milkweed has a white, poisonous sap from which it gets its name, and can grow to be 2 to 3 1/2 feet. It has big leaves that can grow to be 9 inches -1 foot long. The seeds, which grow in a pod, have a silky tuft of hair which allows them to be blown by the wind like little parachutes.

It attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Monarch butterflies particularly like it , just like butterfly weed, which is in the same family, is the flower of choice for Monarchs in North America.

It was an all-purpose remedy for Native Americans. The Omaha Indians used milkweed root as a salve for wounds. Navaho women made a tea from it to prevent pregnancy, but scientists do not believe that it helped. However, the weed's roots do posses properties that heal wounds.

Growing Pains: Asclepias curassavica is without a doubt the best milkweed species for greenhouse culture or the home garden. It attracts Monarch Butterflies and is tolerant to occasional over-watering. It is native to tropical America.

Blooming Time: All year. Its blossoms are are red and orange, less than an inch across, and appear in clusters at the top of 2 to 4 ft. stalks.

Culture: Asclepias curassavica require a sunny spot in moist, fertile soil. Blood-flower is not as drought tolerant as other species of milkweeds. Keep the plants uniformly moist, but not saturated. Pinch the tops of the plants to induce a bushy habit and provide more flowering branches. Once a week fertilize with a balanced fertilizer such as 20-20-20 diluted to half the strength recommended on the label.

Propagation:Asclepias curassavica produces a robust plant when started from seed. It can be propagated from cuttings of green stem cut underwater and treated with rooting hormone. The stems are then placed in vermiculite or in potting soil kept continuously moist.