Euphorbia kaokoensis
Euphorbia kaokoensis
Safety & Hazards
The latex is apparently very poisonous. In northern Namibia it is occasionally added to arrow poison made from the bitter root sap or latex of Adenium boehmianum, or to arrow or spear poison made from the seeds or latex of Fockea multiflora, in order to increase their efficacy[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The Himba people of Namibia mainly use the latex to kill wild animals by poisoning the drinking water[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ].
Botanical Description
Euphorbia kaokoensis is an evergreen, succulent perennial plant with spiny stems that usually become more or less woody. The plant forms a dense mat of growth up to 50cm tall with stems to 2cm in diameter[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. ]. The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local medicinal use. This species is known from at least eight (possibly 20) subpopulations with extent of occurrence < 20,000 km². There are no known threats at present and the population is believed to currently be stable. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].