Each flower is about ВЅ inch across with five strongly reflexed petals arching over the corona composed of pouched lobes that develop from the petals. Pendulous clusters of small, waxy flowers with a faint vanilla scent are borne in leaf axils primarily in summer. All parts of this plant exude milky white latex that is mildly poisonous if ingested. The smooth textured, light green, opposite leaves are 3-4 inches long. The slender, single-stemmed trunk has multiple hollow, pale yellowish green branches. But the common names of вЂњswanвЂќ and вЂњballoonвЂќ plant are used interchangeably for both species.Д«alloon plant is an upright, herbaceous plant or soft shrub that can grow over 6 feet tall from the fibrous roots. It is smaller in stature, not as vigorous, and the seed pod is slightly oblong (supposedly resembling a swan).

fruticosus, which is less common in the ornamental trade. It has naturalized in many places in the world and is a weed in many areas with a mild climate. This quick-growing, short-lived species native to tropical Africa is used as a seasonal annual in the Midwest, although it is actually a tender perennial (zones 8-10). It has a plethora of common names including balloon plant, balloon cotton-bush, balloon milkweed, bishopвЂ™s balls, elephant balls, hairy balls, monkey balls, swan plant, and many others. The name physocarpa comes from the Greek physa meaning bladder and karpos, fruit, referring to the inflated, bladder-like fruits. Gomphocarpus (= Asclepias) physocarpus is a plant in the milkweed family (in the subfamily Asclepiadoideae of the Apocynaceae, formerly the Asclepiadaceae) often used as an ornamental for the striking yellowish, ball-like fruits.

Cyme flower