Plants · La Saladita, Guerrero

giant milkweed

Calotropis procera

Spanish: Algodoncillo gigante

giant milkweed (Calotropis procera)
Photographed by victorglez19 on iNaturalist · CC-BY-NC

Calotropis procera is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae that is native to Northern and Tropical Africa, Western Asia, South Asia and Indochina. It typically reaches a height between 6 feet (1.8 m) to 8 feet (2.4 m), and rarely to as high as 15 feet (4.6 m), and grows in sunny to partly-shaded habitats such as disturbed and overgrazed lands, rangeland, roadsides, river flats and coastal dunes. Its green fruits contain a toxic milky sap that is extremely bitter and turns into a latex-like substance, which is resistant to soap. Most often recorded in Apr.

TaxonomyMagnoliopsida › Gentianales › Apocynaceae
Local records1 research-grade observation within about 50 km of La Saladita (the survey box also takes in Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa and Troncones)
Global records16,739 on iNaturalist
Recorded here2022 – 2022
Months recorded near La Saladita
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Recent local sightings

Interactive card with more photos, sounds and similar species Plants guide iNaturalist Wikipedia

Cite as: “giant milkweed (Calotropis procera) at La Saladita”, La Saladita Field Guide, lasaladita.com/species/calotropis-procera/, updated 2026-09-26. Observation counts and months come from iNaturalist research-grade records within about 50 km of 17.8375°N, 101.7606°W (the survey box also takes in Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa and Troncones); summary text from Wikipedia where present.