Giant milkweed
This plant grows wild on the street sides of Madras (Chennai). I’ve known it from childhood by its Tamil name, “Erukkam”. If you press on the buds, they burst open with a loud “plop” sound. Playing with the neighbourhood kids, we would amuse ourselves popping the buds, somewhat like popping packing bubble-wrap!
A white, milky sap oozes out of all parts of this plant if broken (Tamil: Erukkam-paal, Erukkambaal). We were told this is poisonous, but still we broke off leaves and stems to mess with the sap.
| Botanical name | Calotropis gigantea |
| English names | Giant milkweed, crown flower |
| Nederlandse naam | related species: Calotropis procera, Sodomsappel |
| Indian names | Hindi: Ark, Mudar |
Characteristics
| Native habitat | Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, China, Pakistan, and Nepal | |||
| Plant Type | shrub | |||
| Bloom time | spring, winter, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Nov, Dec | Fall color | – | |
| Fruit | Fleshy capsules, curved and somewhat horned-shaped, ripening from green to yellowish-brown, and splitting apart to reveal small lightweight seeds with fine woolly hairs which assist in dispersal by wind. | |||
| Uses | Multiple medicinal uses, see notes below |
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Special notes
This plant plays host to a variety of insects and butterflies, notably Hawaii’s non-migratory monarch butterflies.
When injested, milky sap causes vomitting and intestinal irritation in mammals. Known cases of poisoning in cattle.
Medicinal uses
All parts of plants considered to be medicinally effective if taken in small doses.
Bark used for dermatitis and syphilis — treatment is so effective for the latter that plant is known as ‘vegetable mercury’.
Leaves used as poultice.
Flowers used to relieve asthma.
Toxic milky sap also known to be used to induce abortions and for infanticide.