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Euphorbia tirucalli
Also called Rubber-hedge euphorbia, African Milkbush, Indian Tree Spurge, Fingertree, Milkhedge, Naked Lady, Penciltree
In Singapore: African Milkbush, Finger Tree, Caustic Bush, Pencil Euphorbia, Pencil Tree, Milk Hedge, Petroleum Plant, Milk Bush, Tentulang, Tulang-Tulang, 绿玉树, 綠珊瑚 (Cultivated in Singapore)
Indiantree spurge (Euphorbia tirucalli) is a succulent shrub or small tree from Africa and Madagascar, grown for its pencil-thick green stems. It thrives in full sun and dry conditions, and its milky sap is toxic and irritating.
Euphorbia tirucalli (commonly known as Indian tree spurge, naked lady, pencil tree, pencil cactus, fire stick, aveloz or milk bush) is a tree native to Africa that grows in semi-arid tropical climates. A hydrocarbon plant, it produces a poisonous latex that can cause temporary blindness.
The milky latex from E. tirucalli is extremely irritating to the skin and mucosa and is toxic. Exposure to it can cause temporary blindness. Skin contact causes severe irritation, redness and a burning sensation. If ingested, it can cause burns to the mouth, lips and tongue. It is suggested to wear eye protection gear and gloves for handling the plant.
It has a wide distribution in Africa in black clay soils, being prominently present in northeastern, central and southern Africa. It may also be native in other parts of the continent as well as some surrounding islands and the Arabian Peninsula and has been introduced to many other tropical regions, such as Brazil, India, Vietnam, the Philippines and Ghana. It grows in dry areas, especially the savanna, and is often used to feed cattle or as hedging. It is well known in Sri Lanka where it is called kaḷḷi (கள்ளி) in Tamil, as mentioned in the Akanaṉūṟu by the Sri Lankan Tamil poet Eelattu Poothanthevanar, and in Sinhalese as weradi nawahandi (වැරදි නවහන්දි) or gas nawahandi (ගස් නවහන්දි).
Its latex can also be used as fuel. This led chemist Melvin Calvin to propose the exploitation of E. tirucalli for producing oil. This usage is particularly appealing because of the ability of E. tirucalli to grow on land that is not suitable for most other crops. Calvin estimated that 10 to 50 barrels of oil per acre was achievable. In the 1980s the Brazilian national petroleum company Petrobras began experiments based on these ideas. It has also been used in the production of rubber, but neither have been very successful.
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 tirucalli 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.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
