Calotropis procera
Family: Asclepiadaceae
Swallow-Wort, Sedom Apple, Dead Sea Apple
Origin: Tropical Africa and Asia
Spreading shrub or small tree to 14 ft. exuding copious milky sap when cut or broken; leaves opposite, grey-green, large up to 1ft long and 4″ broad, with a pointed tip, two rounded basal lobes and no leaf stalk. Flowers are of a waxy white petals 5, purple-tipped inside and with a central purplish crown, carried in stalked clusters at the ends of the branches. Fruit is grey-green, inflated, 3″ to 4″ long, containing numerous seeds with tufts of long silky hairs at one end. Sap from the plant Calotropis procera is used in northwest Benin as the agent to curdle the milk for traditional cheese production .
