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Asclepias curassavica L.
Tropical Milkweed
Scarlet Milkweed
Mexican Butterfly Weed
Not native to Florida
Invasive exotics that have increased in abundance or frequency but have not yet altered Florida plant communities to the extent shown by Category I species.
Planting this species should be avoided and removal of existing plants may be desirable.
An occasional milkweed of the central and southern Florida peninsula plus Leon & Jefferson Counties. Native to tropical America, it is also found in Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas and California.
Scarlet milkweed has flowers typical of this genus, with reflexed reddish-yellow to orange petals. The inflorescence is in terminal umbels and can appear all year. Leaves are opposite, entire, petioled, lanceolate to elliptic and more than 1 cm (3/8 in.) wide. Typically grows up to about a meter (just over 3 feet) tall. Another common name for this species is bloodflower.
Asclepias curassavica is a member of the Apocynaceae - Dogbane family.
Other species of the Asclepias genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Asclepias cinerea - CAROLINA MILKWEED
Asclepias curtissii - CURTISS' MILKWEED
Asclepias humistrata - PINEWOODS MILKWEED
Asclepias lanceolata - FEWFLOWER MILKWEED
Asclepias longifolia - LONGLEAF MILKWEED
Asclepias michauxii - MICHAUX'S MILKWEED
Asclepias pedicellata - SAVANNAH MILKWEED
Asclepias perennis - SWAMP MILKWEED
Asclepias tomentosa - VELVETLEAF MILKWEED
Asclepias tuberosa - BUTTERFLY WEED
Asclepias verticillata - WHORLED MILKWEED
Asclepias viridiflora - GREEN MILKWEED
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jan 26, 2026
