Funastrum cynanchoides

Funastrum cynanchoides (formerly called Sarcostemma cynanchoides),[1] also known as fringed twinevine, twining milkweed or climbing milkweed, is a perennial plant in the family Apocynaceae that grows twining through other plants in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert.[1] It has milky sap and smells pungent.[1] It is similar to Funastrum hirtellum.[1]

Funastrum cynanchoides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Funastrum
Species:
F. cynanchoides
Binomial name
Funastrum cynanchoides
Synonyms

Sarcostemma cynanchoides Decne.

Description

It is a twining vine-like plant that grows over other shrubs.[1]

Its narrow, arrowhead shaped leaves are opposite and 2.5 to 3.8 centimeters (1 to 1+1⁄2 inches) long.[1]

The flowers are pink to purplish, and are produced in umbrella-like heads (umbels) up to 10 cm (4 in) wide.[1][2]

It has a fruit that is 7.5 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) long, with tufted seeds about 3.5 cm (1+1⁄2 in) long.[1]

Distribution and habitat

It can be found from Southern California to Utah, Oklahoma and Texas.[2] It grows at the edge of desert dry washes in the eastern Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert at altitudes below 610 meters (2,000 feet).[1]

In urban areas the vine freely climbs on plants, trees, as well as having a preference for chain-link fencing in neglected areas.

Danaus butterfly on a flower

Ecology

The flowers are actively visited and fed on by butterflies, similar to other milkweeds.

References
  1. MacKay, Pam (2013). Mojave Desert Wildflowers, 2nd: A Field Guide to Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Mojave Desert, Including the Mojave National Preserve, Death Valley National Park, and Joshua Tree National Park. FalconGuides. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7627-8033-4.
  2. Spellenberg, Richard (2001) [1979]. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region (rev ed.). Knopf. p. 350. ISBN 978-0-375-40233-3.

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