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Gymnema lactiferum is a climbing perennial shrub from India and Sri Lanka, with milky sap, grown in wet tropical conditions. Give it warmth, humidity and a support to climb on.
Gymnema lactiferum, the Ceylon cow-tree or Ceylon cow plant, is a species of climbing perennial shrub native to India and Sri Lanka. In Sanskrit it is called ksirakakoli. James Emerson Tennent described the use of the plant in his account of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and wrote it was "evidently a form of the G. sylvestre". The milky juice of this plant has been said to be used as a substitute for milk and cream, but it is believed to contain enough of the poisonous principle peculiar to the order (a poisonous substance that is specific to the order) to cast a doubt upon this reputed use.
Gymnema elegans · Gymnema longipedicellatum · Gymnema stramineum · Miracle fruit · Gymnema
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gymnema lactiferum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
