Swan Plant Milkweed (Gomphocarpus fruticosus )

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Swan Plant Milkweed (Gomphocarpus fruticosus )
Swan Plant Milkweed (Gomphocarpus fruticosus )

Floral Friday
Friday Flora

Though the plant is South African in origin, it has become naturalised in the warm temperate zones of Australia. It is a weed of grasslands and disturbed sites in partial shade or full sun, and may be spotted growing along road verges and railway lines.

It is a short-lived perennial shrub growing half a metre to 2 metres high. The leaves are mid green, 10 cm long and narrow, and arranged in opposite pairs along the stem. Like other members of the ASCLEPIADACEAE the plant exudes a milky sap if the stem is broken or cut, which contains cardiac glycosides.

When working amongst these plants protective clothing is suggested, as some people have an allergic reaction to the sap. In South Africa the plant has a history of use in traditional African medicine. The dried leaves and roots were used to alleviate headaches, and the Afrikaans settlers used the dried seeds as tinder.

The 15mm, tiny, creamy-white flowers with purple coronas fall in clusters from the leaf axils near the end of the stems. The bush continues producing flowers throughout spring and early summer and, though small, the sheer numbers of the flowers make them very attractive indeed.

These develop into large inflated bladder-like balls, which become straw coloured with age, and then later split to disperse the seeds on the wind. Compared to the size of the flowers the seed pod is enormous, being 60 mm long or thereabouts.

The fruits are the cause of the common names swan plant and cotton bush. Using your imagination one could make a swan out of the bend of the stem and the green seed pod but the cotton bush epithet is more easily understood, because when the fruit splits to disperse the wind borne seeds, they look very much like an open cotton boll. They have no relationship to cotton however.

Gomphocarpus fruticosus makes it onto the Noxious Weeds List. This is because the plant is poisonous if eaten by domesticated animals, and is an expensive nuisance if it contaminates a crop.

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Taken on: September 29, 2021
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Camera: Nikon COOLPIX W300, f/4.3, 1/400 sec, 7.8mm, ISO 125 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon COOLPIX W300
Aperture: f/4.3
Exposure Time: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length: 7.8mm
ISO: 125
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Program AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Color Space: sRGB
Software: GIMP 2.10.8
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