Gomphocarpus fruticosus

Gomphocarpus fruticosus

''Gomphocarpus fruticosus'' is a species of milkweed native to South Africa. It is also common in New Zealand where it is the main host of the monarch butterfly. The plant's tissues contain sufficient cardenolides that consumption of significant quantities of the plant's leaves, stems, or fruit may lead to death in livestock and humans.

The species is closely related to ''Gomphocarpus physocarpus''.
Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderGentianales
FamilyApocynaceae
GenusGomphocarpus
SpeciesG. fruticosus