TRAILING MILKWEED (Sarcostemma cynanchoides)
Trailing milkweed is a vine-like plant with thin stems and narrow leaves. Because of its thin stems it cannot support itself, so it trails over other desert plants, including many desert shrubs. At the end of each growing season it dies back to perennial roots, but its yellow-coloured dead stems remain as a tangled, twining mass over the support plants. At that stage it can resemble dodder (a parasitic plant). But it is not a parasite - it just uses other plants for support. The star-like flowers have a waxy appearance and occur in small heads. They give rise to seeds with long, silky tufts that are carried in the wind. |
