The ones that grow at Torrey Pines state park on the coast do get visited by the monarchs that rest on the pines during their migration. The inland populations such as these don't seem to get as many monarchs but the Tarantula Hawk wasp (Pepsis formosa) use these as nectar plants. Also the milky sap smells like rotten onions to me but does not seem to be caustic as some species are. Supposedly the only stem-succulent plant native to Australia is a Sarcostemma species (no cacti or euphorbs are native) . Another species (S. hirtellum) usually found in the desert has flowers that smell like onions. Deer will eat the spring shoots and new growth. Perhapse this is why they seem (to me) to be most plentiful in cactus patches where the mule deer cant get at them.
See the Mutant flower! The one on the upper right has an extra sixth petal and 6 orbicular appendages on the corona instead of 5. Milkweed floral morphology confuses me so if I called the parts by the wrong name please correct me.
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