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Euphorbia cotinifolia
Also called Caribbean Copperplant, Tropical Smokebush
In Singapore: Caribbean Copper Plant, Red Spurge, Hierba mala, 紫锦木, 非洲红, 非洲黑美人, 俏黄栌 (Grown in Singapore)
Euphorbia cotinifolia is a semi-deciduous shrub or small tree from Mexico and tropical America, grown for its reddish-purple foliage. Give it full sun and well-drained soil, and keep its toxic sap away from skin and mouths.
Euphorbia cotinifolia is a broadleaf red shrub native to Mexico and South America. The scientific name of the plant comes from the words cotinus meaning "smoketree" and folia meaning "leaf". Common names for the species include smoketree spurge, tropical smoke bush, Caribbean copper plant, and Mexican shrubby spurge.
Euphorbia cotinifolia is commonly grown as an ornamental plant in gardens and in pots, due to its colourful and distinctive foliage. It prefers a site with well-drained soil and full sun. While relatively hardy, it does not react well to wind, salt, or frost.
The species is well known in Central America, where its poisonous sap has been used both as a medicine and a poison. As a medicine, it has been used in folk remedies as both an emetic and cathartic substance. Fishermen have been known to add the sap to water in fishing grounds to stun fish and force them to float to the top. It was also historically used as a poison for arrowheads by the natives of Curaçao.
The sap can cause irritation if it comes into contact with human skin or eyes. If ingested, the sap can cause severe damage to internal organs.
Abd Al Kuri Euphorbia · Desert Candle · Greek Spiny Spurge · Euphorbia actinoclada · Miniature Saguaro · Pincushion Euphorbia · Euphorbia alcicornis · Euphorbia alfredii · Euphorbia ambarivatoensis · Euphorbia ambovombensis · African candelabra · Euphorbia ampliphylla
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Euphorbia cotinifolia 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.
