Euphorbia grantii
| African milk bush | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus: | Euphorbia |
| Species: | E. grantii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Euphorbia grantii | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Euphorbia umbellata (syn.) Synadenium grantii) is a species of succulent plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, which is native to Africa.
Name
The specific epithet grantii is in honour of the Scottish explorer James Augustus Grant.[2] It was originally described by Daniel Oliver in 1875.[3] The plant has the common name of African milk bush. The synonym Synadenium grantii is in circulation, too. The specific epithet, umbellata, is Latin for "umbrella" or "having umbels."[4]
Description
It is a thornless, erect, multibranched shrub to small tree that reaches a size of 1.5 to 9 metres in height, with a smooth gray bark horizontally grooved, with semi-succulent green branches and large narrowly prominent leaf scars. The sessile, simple, fleshy, linear to linear-lanceolate leaves are 30 x 3 cm.[4]
The alternate leaves are oblanceolate in shape, and are dark green at the top in colour with clear lateral veins and paler at the undersides. Colorful purplish bracts shelter the small flowers, which are borne in open heads.[5]
Appearing in spring, the inflorescences are yellowish-green to green produced in cymes, with purplish green and reddish purple bracts, with red capsule fruits that feature short hair and three-lobes, and ovoid seeds that are 2mm long.[4]
Distribution
The plant is native to the dry tropical areas of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire. It grows at altitudes of 500–2100 meters in woodlands and savannahs.[6] It has been introduced in many other tropical regions.
Cultivation
Its hardiness zone is 9a–11b. It is generally resistant to pest and diseases, though mealybugs and spider mites can affect the plant.[4] Propagated by cuttings, they thrive in bright, indirect sunlight, and a well-drained soil with sand or loam, and prefer temperatures between 10 °C (50 °F) to 23 °C (73 °F).[4] Contact of the milky sap with the skin can cause a burning sensation, dermatitis and blisters.[7]
Usage
It is often grown as a hedge plant and as a traditional grave marker among the peoples of central Kenya (Agĩkũyũ, Akamba, etc.).[8] In 1952 during the Mau Mau Uprising, the poisonous latex of the plant was used to kill cattle.[9] In traditional medicine, the leaf sap (despite being toxic) has been used to treat abdominal parasites, coughs, earaches, sore throats, backaches, syphilis, cardiac issues, and abscesses.[4] In Rwanda its latex is an ingredient of arrow poison.[7]
Gallery
References
- ^ The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-79947 Archived 17 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 28 September 2017).
- ^ Oliver, Daniel. 1875. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, 29(3): 144.
- ^ "Euphorbia grantii". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Euphorbia umbellata by North Carolina State University. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
- ^ Euphorbia umbellata (syn. Synadenium grantii) by James Cook University. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
- ^ Synadenium grantii Hook.f., The Encyclopedia of Succulents. http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/SUCCULENTS/Family/Euphorbiaceae/23048/Synadenium_grantii Archived 6 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Euphorbia umbellata Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2025-07-13.
- ^ (Book) Trees of Kenya, by Tim C. Noad and Ann Birnie, p.109, Self-Published in Nairobi, Kenya 1989
- ^ Bernard Verdourt, E.C. Trump and M.E. Church (1969). Common poisonous plants of East Africa. London: Collins. p. 254.
External links
- Data related to Euphorbia grantii at Wikispecies