Gomphocarpus physocarpus
Gomphocarpus physocarpus E.Mey.
- light
- Full sun
- water
- Medium
- tall
- 1.5 m
- wide
- 76 cm
Apocynaceae
Formerly Asclepias brasiliensis, Asclepias physocarpa, Gomphocarpus brasiliensis
When it flowers
JFMAMJJASOND
Not known yet in the tropics: too few flowering observations to read a season from.
PetsNC State Extension lists it as toxic to dogs, cats and horses (25 Oct 2026)
PeopleNC State Extension lists it as mildly poisonous (flowers, fruits, leaves, roots, sap, seeds, stems) (25 Oct 2026)
If a child, a pet or anyone may have eaten a plant, contact a doctor or vet straight away, or call the National Poisons Information Centre (AIIMS, New Delhi) on 1800 116 117, free and open 24 hours.
Something wrong with it?About it
- Grows as
- ShrubKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Climate
- Seasonally dry tropicalKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Wild in
- S. Mozambique to S. AfricaKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Light
- Full sun (6 h or more)Read from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources
- Height
- 1.2 m to 1.8 mRead from NC State Extension, one source
- Spread
- 61 cm to 91 cmRead from NC State Extension, one source
- Water
- Average: moist, well drainedRead from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources
- Flowers
- WhiteRead from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension pink, white; Wikipedia white
- Coldest it survives
- -12.2 °C (USDA zone 8a)Read from NC State Extension, one source
Not known yet: heat, hottest it survives.
In other languages (3)
- Chinese (Taiwan)
- 釘頭果, 鈍釘頭果
- Chinese
- 钝钉头果
- Simplified Chinese
- 钝钉头果
Where this comes from
- Wikidata, read 2026-10-25, CC0-1.0
- Kew's checklist, read 2026-10-24, CC-BY-4.0
- NC State Extension, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikipedia, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikimedia Commons, read 2026-10-25, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3D model: Gomphocarpus physocarpus (built for Vanagrha) by Vanagrha, own
A fact “checked by a majority of its sources” was settled by a vote of the pages it was read from, not by a person reading it; one marked “one source” rests on that page alone. Anything else not marked checked has not been checked yet. Where nothing is known, the page says so rather than guess.