Green milkweed vine (Stephanotis volubilis)

Stephanotis volubilis is a vigorous climbing milkweed with clusters of small, fragrant, green flowers, found from India to Southeast Asia. It has carried many names — Dregea, Wattakaka and Marsdenia volubilis — and is often called the green milkweed climber. It is not the waxy white wedding stephanotis of florists.

Botanical name: Stephanotis volubilis (L.f.) S.Reuss, Liede & Meve
Family: Apocynaceae
Tamil: Kodippala
Hindi: Harandodi
Parts used: None as food
Habit: Green-flowered climber; wedding stephanotis is another species
Last updated: 2026-10-25

How to recognise Green milkweed vine

It is a strong twiner with milky latex and large, opposite, broadly oval leaves with a heart-shaped base.

The flowers are small, star-shaped, pale green and scented, in dense, hanging umbrella-like clusters.

The fruit is a pair of thick, ridged, woody pods that split to release seeds with long silky hairs.

Wedding stephanotis, Stephanotis floribunda from Madagascar, has white, waxy, trumpet flowers and is grown in pots and bouquets.

The pods are thick and woody and can hang on the vine for months after the leaves have changed.

Traditional use of Green milkweed vine

Folk practice

Leaves and roots appear in Indian and Southeast Asian folk preparations, and in parts of Southeast Asia the young shoots and flowers are cooked as a vegetable.

South and Southeast Asian folk practice

Modern notes on Green milkweed vine

Chemists have isolated steroidal glycosides from the leaves, as from many milkweeds. Laboratory work on them has not led to any clinical use.

Taxonomists have moved it between genera repeatedly. Kew currently accepts it in Stephanotis.

Green milkweed vine safety

Do not drink the latex or eat raw plant parts. Milkweed glycosides can be toxic.

Ecology and sourcing

It grows over trees and shrubs at forest edges and in hedgerows across India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, flowering in the warm season.

In India it is commonest in the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats and the north-east, in deciduous and semi-evergreen forest.

Its scented flowers attract bees, flies and other small pollinators.

Related plants

Also in Apocynaceae

Questions about Green milkweed vine

Is Green milkweed vine the wedding stephanotis?

No. Wedding stephanotis is Stephanotis floribunda, with white waxy flowers.

What older names does Stephanotis volubilis go by?

Dregea volubilis, Wattakaka volubilis and Marsdenia volubilis.

Is the latex of Green milkweed vine safe?

No. Do not drink it.

Where does Green milkweed vine grow in India?

Mostly in forest edges of the Western and Eastern Ghats and the north-east.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.