Funastrum cynanchoides

Funastrum cynanchoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Apocynaceae
Genus:	Funastrum
Species:	F. cynanchoides
Binomial name
	Funastrum cynanchoides; (Decne.) Schltr.
Synonyms
	Sarcostemma cynanchoides Decne.

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]

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

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ 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.
^ ^a ^b 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.

External links

Media related to Funastrum cynanchoides at Wikimedia Commons

This Apocynaceae article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[MDW-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ 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.

[:0-2] 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.

[1]

[2]