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{{SPlantbox
{{SPlantbox
|familia=Asclepiadaceae
|familia=Asclepiadaceae
|genus=Gomphocarpus
|genus=Asclepias
|species=physocarpus
|species=physocarpus
|common_name=Asclepias physocarpa Balloon cotton bush, Swan plant, Tinder plant
|common_name=Balloon cotton bush, Swan plant, Tinder plant
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|habit=shrub
|habit=herbaceous
|habit_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|habit_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|Max ht box=7
|Max ht box=7
|Max wd metric=ft
|Max wd metric=ft
|width_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|width_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|lifespan=perennial, annual
|lifespan=perennial
|life_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|life_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|exposure=sun
|exposure=sun
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|features=flowers
|water=moderate
|water_ref=Wikipedia
|features=flowers, butterflys
|flower_season=early summer, mid summer, late summer
|flower_season=early summer, mid summer, late summer
|flower_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|flower_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|max_zone=11.5
|max_zone=11.5
|image=Upload.png
|image=Asclepias physocarpa2.jpg
|image_width=240
|image_width=200
}}
}}
'''''Asclepias physocarpa''''' (also known as '''''Gomphocarpus physocarpus''''', commonly '''balloonplant''', '''balloon cotton-bush''' or '''swan plant''') is a species of [[milkweed]]. The plant is native to southeast Africa, but it has been widely naturalized. It is often used as an ornamental plant. The name "Balloon plant" is an allusion to the swelling bladder-like fruit.
''Asclepias physocarpa'' is an undershrub perennial herb, that can grow to over six feet. The plant blooms in warm months. It grows on roadside banks, 2800 to 5000 feet. The plant prefers moderate moisture, as well as sandy and well-drained soil and full sun.
The flowers are small, with white hoods and about 1 cm across. The capsule is a pale green, and in shape an inflated sphere. It is covered with rough hairs. It reaches three inches in diameter. The leaves are light green, linear to lanceolate and 3 to 4 inches long, 1.2 cm broad. The seeds have silky tufts.<ref>Llamas, Kirsten Albrecht (2003). ''Tropical Flowering Plants: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation''. Timber Press. p. 73. ISBN 0-88192-585-3.</ref><ref>Iremonger, Susan (2002). ''A Guide to the Plants of the Blue Mountains of Jamaica''. The University of West Indies Press. p. 47. ISBN 976-640-031-8.</ref>
The plant is a food source for the [[caterpillar]]s of ''[[Danaus (genus)|Danaus]]'' [[butterfly|butterflies]]. It is also popular in traditional medicine to cure various ailments.<ref>van Wyk, Ben-Erik; Wink, Michael (2004). ''Medicinal Plants of the World: an illustrated scientific guide to important plants and their uses''. Timber Press. p. 58. ISBN 0-88192-602-7.</ref>
==Cultivation==
==Cultivation==
