''Euphorbia balsamifera'' (balsam spurge) is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the spurge family

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...

. It is distributed in the Canary Islands and the western Sahara. It is the vegetable symbol of the island of Lanzarote. '' Euphorbia adenensis'' has been treated as a subspecies of this species.

Description

The plant varies greatly in height. It can be described both as a low shrub or as a small tree from 2–5 meters tall. The stems are up to 15 cm in diameter, semisucculent without spines, covered with transverse leaf-scars. The color of the stem varies from gray to terra-cotta. It is branched from the base, the older parts gradually becoming knotty and very thick. The leaves are 80 millimeters long and 4–8 millimeters wide clustered at the tips of the stems. They are green and glaucous, sessile, varying in shape from linear-lanceolate to ovate. The inflorescences are terminal cymes, usually reduced to a single semi-sessile 6 millimeters wide

cyathium A cyathium (plural: cyathia) is one of the specialised pseudanthia ("false flowers") forming the inflorescence of plants in the genus ''Euphorbia'' (Euphorbiaceae). A cyathium consists of: * Five (rarely four) bracteoles. These are small, uni ...

at the tip of each stem. The color of pseudo-petals is yellowish green. The fruit of the plant is a green large capsule 10 millimeters long and 9 millimeters wide, pinkish-reddish-green when ripened. It is shallowly lobed, smooth or hairy and semi-sessile.

Subspecies

Two subspecies have been distinguished, but ''Euphoria balsamifera'' subsp. ''adenensis'' is now accepted as a separate species, '' Euphorbia adenensis''.

Distribution and habitat

''Euphorbia balsamifera'' is native to the Canary Islands, western

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

and

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

. The tree grows 800 meters above sea level in dense communities on rocky grounds and sandy dunes (except for extremely mobile dunes) in plains among other succulent plants.

Uses

Milky latex of ''Euphorbia balsamifera'' is poisonous like in other ''Euphorbia'' species, but it is not so caustic. In Morocco, it is widely used in dentistry as anesthesia for acute dental pulpitis treatment. The leaves were gathered and cooked as a green vegetable in the Canary Islands.

References

External links