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Asclepias Physocarpa
''Gomphocarpus physocarpus'', commonly known as hairy balls, balloonplant, balloon cotton-bush, bishop's balls, nailhead, or swan plant, is a species of dogbane. The plant is native to southeast Africa, but it has been widely naturalized. It is often used as an ornamental plant. Description ''Gomphocarpus physocarpus'' is an undershrub perennial herb, that can grow to over six feet. The plant blooms in warm months. It grows on roadside banks, at elevations of 2800 to 5000 feet above sea level. The plant prefers moderate moisture, as well as sandy and well-drained soil and full sun. ''Gomphocarpus physocarpus'' is traditionally used to produce ointments for the treatment of warts and the seeds are used in rituals. The leaves and stems produce milky latex that is toxic, yet it has never been described in detail particularly with regards to the anatomy of lactiferous cells. The flowers are small, with white hoods and about 1 cm across. The follicle is a pale green, and in s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dogbane
Dogbane, dog-bane, dog's bane, and other variations, some of them regional and some transient, are names for certain plants that are reputed to kill or repel dogs; "bane" originally meant "slayer", and was later applied to plants to indicate that they were poisonous to particular creatures. History of the term The earliest reference to such names in common English usage was in the 16th century, in which they were applied to various plants in the Apocynaceae, in particular ''Apocynum''. Some plants in the Asclepiadoideae, now a subfamily of the Apocynaceae, but until recently regarded as the separate family Asclepiadaceae, were also called dogbane even before the two families were united. It is not clear how much earlier the name had been in use in the English language, which originated about 1000 years earlier in mediaeval times. However, centuries before the appearance of the English language, Pedanius Dioscorides, in his ''De Materia Medica'', had already described members of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
