atoll research bulletin no. 392 the flora of - Smithsonian Institution ...

anch ends; main petioles 15 to 45 cm long, petiolules, 2.5 to 8 cm long; leaflets, 10 to
30 cm long, elliptic-obovate, oblong, sub-acuminate, the central ones longest, shiny,
dark-green, leathery (coriaceous); flowers, in small red heads, arranged more or less
spicate-racemosely along stout wide-spreading axes, up to 60 cm or longer, several of
which radiate, like the tentacles of an octopus, from a central hub-like axis arising from
each leaf cluster; fruit, 10- to 12-seeded, nutlets, red-purple. Planted ornamental.
3(58672), 5, 6, 7.
ASCLEPIADACEAE (Milkweed Family)
Asclepias curassavica L. "milkweed", "butterfly weed", "red cotton bush", "bloodflower"
dupaimdupaim, dupaimdupwaim (N)
Pre-World War I1 introduction? Trop. America. Rare. Slender erect, branched,
woody perennial herb, up to 1 m or higher, with milky sap; leaves, 6 to 15 cm long and
1 to 3 cm wide, opposite, oblong-lanceolate, acute at both ends, pinnately-nerved,
pubescent on nerves beneath; flowers, many, small, about 60 mm in diameter, borne in
4- to 15-flowered terminal and axillary umbels on finely pubescent peduncles, 3.5 to 6
cm long; corolla, 7 to 9 mm long, red to reddish-purple, with 5 deeply-parted lobes, bent
backward (reflexed), and a protruding orange to yellowish-orange scaly crown, 3.5 to 4
mm long; fruit, 5 to 7.5 cin long, erect, pointed, ovoid, podlike, smooth or downy,
containing numerous round, flat seeds, 6 to 7 mm long, each bearing a tuft of long,
silky, white hairs, 2 to 2.7 mm long. Planted ornamental; flowers used for body
ornamentation and making garlands; reportedly poisonous to livestock. 5, 6.
Calotropis gigantea (L.) R. Br.
te bumorimori (K)
syn. Asclepias gigantea L.
"crown flower", "giant milkweed"
Recent introduction. India to Indonesia. Rare. A large shrub, up to 4 m or higher,
with thick downy branches and copious milky sap; leaves, 7.5 to 25 cm long, nearly
stemless (shortly petiolate), broad ovate-oblong, thick, pale green, downy, woolly
beneath, indented at base; flowers, about 3 to 4 cm in diameter, pale lavender or white,
sweetish fragrance that deteriorates when crushed, with 5 curled-back petals and a
prominent symmetrical crown, sometimes only consisting of the flower crowns. Planted
ornamental at the Meneng Hotel. 3(58771), 5, 6(152), 7.