Euphorbia lactea Haw

Origin and Habitat: Grows wild, in tropical Asia. Widely cultivated in west Indies, Florida and in many tropical areas world wide. Widely escaped from cultivation and in many places forming dense thickets.
Habitat and ecology: These plants with succulent stems and water storage tissue are adapted to dry regions. Like cacti, they have developed similar compact for with reduced surface and less water loss, also green stems replacing leaves in food manufacture.

Synonyms:

• Euphorbia lactea Haw.

See all synonyms of Euphorbia lactea

 

Common Names include:
ENGLISH: Mottled candle stick tree, Milk striped euphorbia, Mottled candlestick, Milkstripe euphorbia, Frilled fan, Elkhorn, African milk plant, False cactus, Hat-rack-cactus, Candle-stick tree, Caper Spurge, Cactus Candelabre, Candelabra Cactus, Candelabra spurge, Dragon bones, Dragoon bones tree, Mottled spurge, Hatrack cactus
DANISH (Dansk): Coral Cactus
FRENCH (Français): Euphorbe lactée
MALAY (بهاس ملاي /Bahasa Melayu ): Pokok sesudu
RUSSIAN (Русский): Молочай молочный
SPANISH (Español): Candelero, Escambrón, Moteado, Lechero de lindero, Cardon
SWEDISH (Svenska): Marmoreuforbia

 

Description: Euphorbia lactea is a tall, dark-green, many-branched, cactus-like shrub or small tree hairless throughout. It has a distinctive silhouette and can grow 3-6 m tall (or more) but rarely does in cultivation. Euphorbia lactea is one of the most common succulent euphorbias in cultivation, but highly variable with several forms and hybrids making precise descriptions of it difficult. Variegated and crested Euphorbia lactea is a popular subject for grafting; prized specimens are intricately convoluted and blend creamy white with shades of green and pink.
Stems: It forms an erect, many branched, straight brown, fissured trunk, with whorls of branches nearly to base. Branches angled approx 5 cm in diameter, constricted into oblong green segments 10-30 cm long. Centre of the segments conspicuously pale often with very ornamental whitish and lime green marbled marking. A milky, sticky latex naturally oozes from wounds. The soft cut branches have a light green outer layer less than 3 mm thick, which yields latex, and within whitish watery tissue, slightly bitter.
Ribs: 3(or 4) slightly winged, sinuate.
Leaves: It has only the tiniest hint of leaves at the growing tips in summer. The leaves are alternate, stalkless, rudimentary, circular, reddish, 3-4 mm in diameter, sessile and early deciduous, or absent.
Stipular spines: Tiny, short but sharp, paired, widely divergent along the margins, 2-6 mm long.
Flowers (Cyathia): Small and inconspicuous, borne intermittently. It is not known to flower in captivity.

Euphorbia lactea (llifle.com)