![]() ![]() If latex or root juice gets on the skin, the victim should immediately wash with soap and warm water.The plant’s leaves and stems also contain beta-sitosterol, cycloartenone, octacosanol, and oxime, all of which have known medicinal as well as toxic properties ![]() These parts of the plant contain euphorbol (a complex terpene) and other diterpene esters. The roots, stems, and leaves of the plant are known to be toxic. ![]() In the West Indies, a few drops of the latex is added to milk and used as an emetic.ĭisadvantages of Euphorbia tithymaloides: None of these uses has been scientifically verified as effective. The latex has been used topically to treat calluses, earache, insect stings, ringworm, skin cancer, toothache, umbilical hernias, and warts. Tea brewed from the root has been used as an abortifacient. ![]() In folk medicine, tea has been brewed from the leaves which have been used to treat asthma, persistent coughing, laryngitis, mouth ulcers, and venereal disease.A proteolytic enzyme known as pedilanthain can be extracted from the plant’s latex and has been shown in experiments to be effective against intestinal worms and to reduce inflammation when ingested. The root is known to be a powerful emetic.Pests and Diseases:Įuphorbia may be susceptible to mealybugs, scale insects, occasionally spider mites. Also can be propagated from seed, but they can be difficult to germinate. Rooting hormone is recommended with Euphorbias. This can be tricky, because of the exuding sap. Take cutting in spring, which needs to be dried out for a couple of weeks in shade before potting. Avoid fertilizing your plant during the fall and winter months. Fertilizer:įertilize every two weeks with a diluted balanced liquid fertilizer during its growing season in the spring and summer. It prefers an optimal temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit – 85 degrees Fahrenheit / 16 degrees Celsius to 29 degrees Celsius. Do not water too often to prevent overwatering, that can potentially kill it off. Before watering the plant check underneath the pot through the drainage holes to see if the roots are dry. You can allow the soil to dry out between each watering. They are not particular about soil pH, but they cannot tolerate wet soil. It grows well in well-draining, gritty soil or cactus potting mix. Provides good sunlight at least 3-5 hours of the day, and turn it regularly so that your plant doesn’t begin to grow lopsided. How to care and grow Devil’s Backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)? Light: Synonyms: Pedilanthus tithymaloides, Tithymalus tithymaloides.Ĭommon Names: Devil’s Backbone, Redbird Flower, Buck Thorn, Cimora Misha, Christmas Candle, Fiddle Flower, Ipecacuahana, Jacob’s Ladder, Japanese Poinsettia, Jew’s Slipper, Jewbush, Milk Hedge, Myrtle-Leaved Spurge, Padus-Leaved Clipper Plant, Red Slipper Spurge, Redbird Cactus, Slipper Flower, Slipper Plant, Slipper Spurge, Timora Misha, Zig Zag Plant. The plant generally flowers in mid-spring. The seed pod is about 7.6 mm long and 8.9 mm wide, and ovoid in shape The male pedicel is hairy, while the female is glabrous. The floral leaves are bifid (split into two parts) and ovate, while the involucral bracts are bright red, irregularly acuminate in shape, and about 1.1 to 1.3 mm in length with a long, thin tube. The plant terminates in a dichotomous cyme, with a peduncle supporting each flower. The leaves are glabrous (smooth) and acuminate in shape, with entire (smooth) edges. Each leaf is sessile (attaching directly to the plant), and about 3.6 to 7.6 cm in length. The leaf is a simple angiosperm leaf, arranged oppositely on the stem. This erect shrub can grow to 6 to 8 feet in height and generally is about 18 to 24 inches in width. Devil’s Backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides) is perennial succulent spurge. ![]()
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