Certain wild plants, native to India, need to be introduced in gardens. One such climber is Oxystelma esculentum (Family Asclepiadaceae). The common name in English is Rosy milkweed vine. It is called as Dudhani and Dugdhika in Marathi because of the milky sap.
It is a medium size climber with very dense foliage. Flowering occurs mainly in Summer & Monsoon. The common variety is with flowers having pink center. However, I also found a pure white variety in CME Pune.
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| Purple variety of "Oxystelma esculentum" creeper, also called as "Dudhaani" (Marathi). |
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| White variety of Dudhaani |
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| Dense foliage of the creeper |
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| Twin pod of Oxystelma, characteristic of the Asclepiadaceae family. |
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| The Striped Tiger (Danais genutia) [Image credit : JM Garg] |
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| The caterpillar of the Striped Tiger [Image credit : School of Ecology and Conservation, UAS Bangalore] |
The same pink creeper could be located by roadside in Surat near our residence.
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