Calotropis gigantea (L.) W. T. Aiton, Hortus kew. Ed. 2, 2: 78 (1811).
Giant milk-weed bears a follicle 2.5-12 cm long, balloon-like, filled with many seeds attached to a “parachute” of fine, silky fibers. In the potpourri trade, the fruits are known as “land lotus petals” or “trevo leaves.”
Calotropis gigantea is native to Iran, China, the Indian Subcontinent, Indo-China, and Malesia and widely cultivated for the seed fibers, used like kapok, and the fibrous bark, used in textiles, fishing nets, and bowstrings. To a lesser extent, C. procera (Aiton) W. T. Aiton of Africa and Asia, is also used similarly.
Asclepiadaceae, also placed in Apocynaceae
Asclepias gigantea L.