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Taxon:  Gomphocarpus fruticosus (L.) W. T. Aiton subsp. fruticosus



Summary
Genus:
Gomphocarpus
Family:
Apocynaceae
Subfamily:
Asclepiadoideae
Tribe:
Asclepiadeae
Subtribe:
Asclepiadinae
Nomen number:
17853
Verified:
01/25/2012 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
0 (0  active, 0  available) in Australian Pastures Genebank. 
Other conspecific taxa
Gomphocarpus fruticosus (L.) W. T. Aiton (1 active accession[s])
Gomphocarpus fruticosus (L.) W. T. Aiton subsp. decipiens (N. E. Br.) Goyder & Nicholas (0 active accession[s])
Gomphocarpus fruticosus (L.) W. T. Aiton subsp. flavidus (N. E. Br.) Goyder (0 active accession[s])
Gomphocarpus fruticosus (L.) W. T. Aiton subsp. rostratus (N. E. Br.) Goyder & Nicholas (0 active accession[s])
Gomphocarpus fruticosus (L.) W. T. Aiton subsp. setosus (Forssk.) Goyder & Nicholas (0 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Basionym
Asclepias fruticosa L.

No images


Reference(s)
  1. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14. 2003
  2. Goyder, D. J. & A. Nicholas. 2001. A revision of Gomphocarpus R. Br.(Apocynaceae: Asclepiadeae). Kew Bull. 56:784-785.
Common names
English
balloon-cotton –
bristle-fruit silkweed –
Cape-cotton –
cottonbush –
duckbush –
gooseplant –
mobydick –
narrow-leaf cottonbush –
swanplant –
wild cotton –
French
faux cotonnier –
ouatier marron –
petite ouate –
German
Baumwoll-Seidenpflanze –
Swedish
ballongbuske –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaAngola  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMalawi  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMozambique  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZambia  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZimbabwe  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaBotswana  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaLesotho  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaNamibia  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaEastern Cape 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaFree State 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaGauteng 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaKwaZulu-Natal 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaLimpopo 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaMpumalanga 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaNorth West 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaNorthern Cape 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaWestern Cape 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSwaziland  
2Cultivated     
3AdventiveNorthern AmericaSouthwestern U.S.A.United StatesCalifornia 
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalAzores 
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalMadeira Islands 
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaSpainCanary Islands 
4NaturalizedAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSudan  
4NaturalizedAfricaNorthern AfricaMorocco  
4NaturalizedAfricaWest Tropical AfricaCote D'Ivoire  
4NaturalizedAfricaWest Tropical AfricaGuinea  
4NaturalizedAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSenegal  
4NaturalizedAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaCameroon  
4NaturalizedAfricaWestern Indian OceanMadagascar  
4NaturalizedAfricaWestern Indian OceanMauritius  
4NaturalizedAfricaWestern Indian OceanReunion  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaCyprus  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaNew ZealandNew Zealand  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeAlbania  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeCroatia  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeGreece  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItaly  
4NaturalizedEuropeSouthwestern EuropeFrance  
4NaturalizedEuropeSouthwestern EuropePortugal  
4NaturalizedEuropeSouthwestern EuropeSpain  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaNorthern South AmericaVenezuela  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaPeruMoquegua 
Native
Africa
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa [Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape, Western Cape]
Cultivated ()
Adventive
Northern America
  • SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [California]
Naturalized
Africa
  • MACARONESIA: Spain [Canary Islands], Portugal [Azores, Madeira Islands]
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Sudan
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Morocco
  • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Cote D'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal
  • WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Cameroon
  • WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion
Asia-Temperate
  • WESTERN ASIA: Cyprus, Turkey
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
  • NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand
Europe
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Greece, Croatia, Italy
  • SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France, Portugal
Southern America
  • NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Venezuela
  • WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Peru [Moquegua]
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalornamental Huxley, A., ed. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 1992
Medicinesfolklore Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. Flora of China (English edition). 1994-
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Kellerman, T. S. et al. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa. 1988
Weedpotential seed contaminant Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. Noxious weeds of Australia. 1992
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=17853. Accessed 19 July 2025.


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