Names
Scientific Name: Funastrum cynanchoides heterophyllum
Synonym: Funastrum heterophyllum, Sarcostemma cynanchoides
Common Names: Hartweg’s twinevine, Vine milkweed
Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Vine
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Along washes, hillsides, canyons, roadsides, climbing over trees and shrubs
Flower Color: White, pink, purple
Flowering Season: March to October
Height: 1 to 3 feet, climbing
Description: Hartweg’s twinevine is a milkweed with twining stems and elongated arrow-head shaped leaves, three or four times longer than they are wide. Many flowers bunch together in bouquet-like groupings.
Special Characteristics
Hartweg’s twinevine is a larval foodsource for monarch and queen butterflies. The seeds of this plant are eaten by birds and the vines may be used for nesting material.
Classification
Order: Gentianales
Family: Asclepiadaceae
SOURCES:
University of Austin, Lady Bird Johnson wildflower center: wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=FUCYH
Kearney, T. H. and R. H. Peebles. 1960. Arizona Flora. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
