Native Plants
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Wednesday - March 09, 2005
From: New Port Richey, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Non-native Asclepias curassavica
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I have some plants given to me by a neighbor, here in Florida. She says they are called Butterfly Reel or by another name Asclepias Curassavica. I have been unable to locate any info. on this plant. Can you help ??? Thanks.ANSWER:
The scientific name of the plant is Asclepias curassavica and it has several common names--bloodflower, wild ipecacuantha, butterfly weed, scarlet milkweed. It is a member of the milkweed family (Family Asclepiadaceae) which serve as hosts for the monarch butterflies. It is a non-native introduced from South America that has become naturalized in Florida and other tropical and subtropical areas. You can read more about it and its cultivation on the Floridata web page.More Non-Natives Questions
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Care for non-native tropical hibiscus in Houston
April 15, 2010 - How to care for a tropical hibiscus plant? How much water, sun, fertilizer? I am novice gardener in Houston, TX. From much reading, April seems to be the month I cut all blooms and let the plant lie d...
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Pruning of non-native chocolate mimosa
August 07, 2008 - I have a one year old chocolate mimosa that has grown 2.5 feet in height. It has seven leaf stems two feet from the bottom and only three at the top canopy. The trunk is only three quarters of an inch...
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