Calotropis procera (Aiton) Dryand.

Coarse erect herbs or subshrubs to 2 m or more high; stems glaucous, with age developing thick corky, deeply furrowed bark. Leaves glaucous, ovate to nearly orbicular, sessile or nearly so, apically acute, basally cordate, 10-30 cm long and 8-20 cm broad. Inflorescences branched umbelliform cymes, many flowered. Flowers with calyx lobes ovate-triangular, 5-6 mm long and 3-4 mm wide; corolla shallowly campanulate to nearly rotate, ca. 2.5 cm in diameter, lobed to about the middle, the lobes triangular, 9-11 mm long and 7-9 mm wide, greenish outside, whitish inside with the lobes usually purple tipped. Follicles short and broad, 5-7 cm long and 3-4 cm wide.

It is a tropical plant. It grows in arid and semiarid regions in Central America. It is resistant to drought, frost and salt. It grows in the Sahel. It grows in savannah woodland. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 400-900 mm. It can grow in arid places. In Zimbabwe it grows up to 1,000 m above sea level. In Yunnan.

The flower shoots are eaten young and raw. The leaves are occasionally eaten. The leaves are used for making an alcoholic drink. Caution: The sap of this plant contains calotropin that can cause damage to the heart. In Ethiopia the sap is added to milk to help it coagulate. The latex is used in beer and cheese making. The fruit is chopped into small pieces and cooked as a vegetable.

Plants can be grown from seed.