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Araujia sericifera

Common name:	Cruel Plant	Family:	Asclepiadaceae
Author:	Brot.	Botanical references:	11, 74, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S. America - Brazil and Peru. Naturalized in S.W. Europe
Habitat:	Sandy sea shores in S.W. Europe[50, 74].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. sericofera[P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bladder Flower [P], White Bladder-flower [B], White Bladderflower [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Gentianales. Milkweed family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	South Africa
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: California.

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen climber growing to 10m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower in September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, Walls.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - after preparation[177]. No further details are given but the fruit is a long grooved pod 12.5 x 7.5cm, tapering to a fascicle of hairs 2.5cm long[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Fibre.

A strong fibre obtained from stems is used in making textiles[46, 61].

Cultivation details

Prefers a good loamy soil but succeeds in any fertile soil[11, 182]. Requires a sunny position[182].
Plants are not very hardy outdoors in Britain, they succeed outdoors only in the mildest areas of the country[1, 11]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K]. Plants produce fruit when growing on a wall at Glendurgan gardens in &ndndndnd[59].
A very vigorous twining plant when growing in a suitable position[182, 219].
The flowers have a very strong scent that can be offensive if approached too closely[219]. This scent attracts night-flying moths who are seeking nectar, but the flowers are designed in such a way as to trap the moths by their tongues until morning when those who have survived the ordeal can escape[200, 219].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. The seed can be sown at any time of the year if the greenhouse is heated[134]. Germinates in 3 - 6 weeks at 20° c according to one report whilst another says that it takes 1 - 6 months at 25° c[134]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, late autumn in a frame[1].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a very strong scent that can be offensive if approached too closely. This scent attracts night-flying moths who are seeking nectar.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Araujia sericofera (a possible synonym).

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Asclepiadaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[59] Thurston. Trees and Shrubs in &ndndndnd.
Trees and shrubs that succeed in &ndndndnd based on the authors own observations. Good but rather dated.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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