Euphorbia tirucalli L.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Euphorbiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Euphorbia tirucalli L.

  • Description

    Species Description - Succulent shrub or small tree to 5 m tall, producing abundant milky, caustic, latex; bark dark green, smooth, branches whorled, green, cylindrical, spineless, forking upward. Leaves alternate, early deciduous; blades 1.5-2.5 cm long, oblanceolate, acute or obtuse at apex. Cyathia reddish, cup-shaped, ca. 3 mm across, in terminal yellowish, stalkless heads, the glands 5. Staminate flowers numerous; stamens 1 per flower. Pistillate flowers with ellipsoid, pubescent ovary, the styles bifid, united at base. Capsule glabrous, 3-lobed, ovoid, puberulous to 8 mm diam. Seeds ellipsoid, 3 mm long, black, with whitish margins.

  • Discussion

    Common names: milk bush, penciLbush. Cultivated species: Euphorbia lactea Roxb. and Euphorbia leucocephala Lotsy are occasionally found in gardens or are persistent after cultivation, but they are not naturalized.

  • Distribution

    An occasional shrub of dry open areas, persistent after cultivation. Lind Point (A4241). Also St. Thomas and Tortola; native to tropical and southem Africa, now widespread through cultivation.

    Saint John Virgin Islands of the United States South America| South Africa Africa| Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America|