Euphorbia trigona, the African milk tree,Timothy K. Broschat, Alan W. Meerow. ''Betrock's Reference Guide to Florida Landscape Plants''. Betrock Information Systems, 1991. p. 123. cathedral cactus, or Abyssinian euphorbia, is a species of flowering plant that originates from Central Africa. Somewhat common in cultivation as a houseplant or as a hedge, the species is one of the euphorbias with succulent stems and branches as an adaptation to

arid climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...

Description

This succulent shrub has an upright stem and many branches that also grow upward. The stem and branches can have two or three sides. The stem itself is dark green with V-shaped light green patterns. The thorns occur in pairs on the stem's ridges. The drop shaped leaves grow from between the two thorns on each ridge. The plant has never been known to flower,''Medicinal Plants, Volume 1''. PROTA, 2008. p. 260. and is possibly a hybrid.

Cultivation

''Euphorbia trigona'' can withstand brief cold temperatures of down to . It prefers sandy soil but can cope with most types of well-drained soil. It can root easily from stem cuttings, if allowed to dry for 3–7 days before planting so that it can form a callus and not rot. It grows to a height of .

Chemistry

As with many other ''

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

'' species, the

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

from the plant is poisonous and can cause skin irritations. It is a pest-free plant. A problem that some trigonas face is that they are susceptible to falling over when fully grown because of their shallow and small root system FLEURS TROPICALES DES JARDINS D'AFRIQUE, Miller, Euphorbia trigona,

Uses

The plant is only known in human cultivation and is commonly used as a house plant. It is used as a ritual plant and a hedge in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1257890

trigona ''Trigona'' is one of the largest genera of stingless bees, comprising about 32 species, exclusively occurring in the New World, and formerly including many more subgenera than the present assemblage; many of these former subgenera have been el ...

House plants Plants described in 1768 Taxa named by Philip Miller