Euphorbia horrida

Description

• Scientific name: Euphorbia horrida Boiss

• Common name: African Milk Barrel

• Origin: South Africa (lower Great Karoo) Found in the Wittepoort Mts. in the Willowmore District, var. striata is found 24km north of Steyterville, var. noorsveldensis is found 18km to the north of Jansenville, var. major is found 30km north of Willowmore.

• Stem: Erect, cylindrical 100 to 150 mm thick, up to 75 (150) cm tall.

  Ribs: 10 to 20, wing-like, prominent.

• Spines: The formidable rows of spines up to 40 mm long are actually the dried remnants of its flower stalks and are very rigid.
  Flower: Very small green and yellow solitary cyathia, pedunculate. Involucre finely hairy with 5 glands and 5 large lobes. Involucres glands are green, blooms in summer.

  Note: This plant is somewhat variable with many varieties and forms, and perhaps natural hybrids between it and taller Euphorbias, giving rise to the big, spiny forms like E. horrida noorvalescens, furthermore there are several other similar Euphorbia species (particularly Euphorbia polygona) which often looks a lot like some of the forms.
  E. horrida and E. polygona are hard to tell apart only by body characteristics, at least when the plants are young. The only certain characteristic is in their cyathia. E. horrida bears green cyathia that sometimes may turn brownish with the age. The cyathia of E. polygona are red to deep purple.