The corkscrew flower is producing clusters of flower in the western Glasshouse Corridor.
The milkweed family Apocynaceae is a mainly tropical family comprising approximately 350 genera of trees, shrubs, climbers and perennials which produce a milky latex. The genus Strophanthus is a tropical member of the family containing shrubby climbers whose flowers have a long corolla tube and twisted corolla lobes. In S. speciosus it is these which give rise to the common name corkscrew flower. The name Strophanthus derives from the Greek stroph, meaning twisted rope or cord, and anthos, meaning flower. A South African species, S. speciosus is a woody species, which can take the form of a tree, shrub or climber to 10m in height. It grows in temperate forest margins. All parts of this plant are toxic and this species has been used medicinally as a cardiac stimulant, but also as a source of poison for arrows and as a treatment for snake bites.