SimplePlant

Apocynaceae

Bloodflower

Asclepias curassavica L.

Family
Apocynaceae
Genus
Asclepias

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Bloodflower (Asclepias curassavica)
FlowerPhoto: Ricard Busquets Reverte, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (26)
Arabic
تفله تركي
arz
تفله تركى
Bangla
মরিচা ফুল, ইপিকাক, লাল মুন্ডি
Bulgarian
Копринено растение
Burmese
အစ္စလွေပင်
Chinese
尖尾鳳, 馬利筋, 马利筋, 芳草花, 莲生桂子花, 金凤花, 黄冠马利筋
Czech
Klejicha kurasavská
Danish
Rav-Silkeplante
Dutch
Frederiksbloem, Koningsbloempje
English
Bloodflower, Tropical milkweed, Blood flower, Mexican butterfly, Scarlet milkweed
Finnish
Punasilkkiyrtti
German
Indianer-Seidenpflanze, Curaçao-Seidenpflanze
Haitian Creole
Zèb papiyon
Hebrew
אסקלפיאס אדום
Hungarian
Selyembokor, Kínaileander, Selyemvirág
Japanese
トウワタ, 唐綿
Korean
금관화
Malagasy
Fanoromena, Kitseakanalika, Montafara, Treniombilahy
Malayalam
ചെമ്മുള്ളി
Russian
Ваточник кюрасавский
shn
တူၼ်ႈမႆႉလၢင်းၶိူဝ်း
Spanish
Cancerillo, Chilillo venenoso, Cojon de gato, Cojón de gato, Cominos rusticos, Cominos rústicos, Flor de la seda, Flor de tigre
Swedish
Röd sidenört
Telugu
జిల్లేడు మందార
Thai
ไฟเดือนห้า
Tongan
Tuʻulapepe, Loupepe

Synonyms

  • Asclepias aurantiaca Salisb.
  • Asclepias bicolor Moench
  • Asclepias cubensis Wender.
  • Asclepias curassavica f. flaviflora Tawada
  • Asclepias curassavica f. kentingensis F.C.Ho
  • Asclepias curassavica f. pallidiflora Griseb.
  • Asclepias curassavica var. concolor Krug & Urb.
  • Asclepias margaritacea Hoffmanns. ex Schult.
  • Asclepias nivea var. curassavica (L.) Kuntze

Flowers

In flower
all year (from 7,891 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Forb/herb, Subshrub
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Hawaii: introduced, Lower 48 states: introduced, Pacific Basin: introduced, Puerto Rico: introduced, U.S. Virgin Islands: introduced

Photos

More in Asclepias

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.