The Research Trends and Development Prospect of Calotropis gigantea

Calotropis gigantea is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa, and specifically in the dryhot valley in Yunnan Province, which has important medicinal, fiber, and energy development values. It belongs to the precious ecological and economical resource plant. However, due to C. gigantea has not receive enough attention in China and lacks of intensive cultivation technique system, the promotion of ecological economic values of C. gigantea has been greatly limited. This paper introduces the research trends in utilization of germplasm resource, breeding technique, bioecology property, cultivation technique, development and utilization of C. gigantea. The development prospects in medicinal, fiber, and energy fields of C. gigantea are also discussed. Finally the specific suggestions are proposed based on the problems of C. gigantea in future development and research, which may provide a basis for resource development and industrialization promotion of C. gigantea.