Euphorbia unispina
Euphorbia unispina
Safety & Hazards
The latex is very caustic, toxic and very irritating to the skin and mucous membranes. It can cause blindness when in contact with the eyes. It is incorporated into arrow-poisons, though always mixed with other ingredients, such as the seeds of Strophanthus species; it is also added to bait in traps and used as a fish poison[1, 2].
Cultivation Details
A plant of drier areas in the tropics. Requires a sunny position and a well-drained soil[3]. Succeeds in dry soils[3].
Propagation
Seed - Easily propagated by stem cuttings. These should be at least 20cm long, preferably cut at the base of a branch where the cut surface will be woody. After cutting they should be allowed to lie in a shaded place for at least 2 weeks for a callus to form on the cut end[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Euphorbia+unispina>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
- [2]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
- [3]Bihrmann's Caudiciforms — http://www.bihrmann.com/caudiciforms/ ↩︎An internet site giving information on caudiciform plants (plants with swollen stem bases such as the Baobab tree, cycads and many succulents). Excellent photos, usually of cultivated plants in pots.
- [4]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.