Gomphocarpus fruticosus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Apocynaceae |
Genus: | Gomphocarpus |
Species: | G. fruticosus
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Binomial name | |
Gomphocarpus fruticosus (L.) W.T.Aiton
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Synonyms[1] | |
List
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Gomphocarpus fruticosus (swan plant; narrow-leaved cotton bush) is a species of plant native to South Africa.[2] It is also common in Australia and New Zealand where it is a host of the monarch butterfly.[3] The plant's tissues contain sufficient cardenolides that consumption of significant quantities of the plant's leaves, stems, or fruit may lead to death in livestock and humans.[4][5][6]
The plant, also referred to as Narrow leaf cotton bush, has officially been declared a pest in Western Australia.[7]
The species is closely related to Gomphocarpus physocarpus.
Narrow leaf cotton bush (Gomphocarpus fruticosus) is a declared pest in Western Australia (WA).