Euphorbia trigona Mill.

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Equisetopsida C. Agardh > Malpighiales Juss. ex Bercht. & J. Presl > Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia trigona Haw.

Description: Succulent trees, latex milky, branchlets 3-angled, spines 3 mm, divergent, cauducous. Leaves to 2.5 mm, ovate, cauducous. Cyathia solitary or in groups, bracts paired to 3.5 x 4 mm, ovate, obtuse, dentate, glands 5 to 2.2 mm, bracteoles ca 2.5 mm, obovate, apex fringed; stamens numerous, filaments jointed, 2.6 mm; female flowers erect, ovary ca 3.7 mm across, 3-celled, style 3, ovule 1. Capsule to 7 mm, 3-lobed, 3.5 mm, obovoid.

Flowering and Fruiting: December-June

Uses: Euphorbia trigona is widely commercialized as an ornamental and potted plant and, due to the presence of spines, it is also used as a fence/hedge plant. In tropical Africa, it is commonly planted as a ritual plant and hedge near villages. In India, the sap from the plant is mixed with the mud from termite mounds and is applied on the blades of new knives and axes to sharpen them. The latex is also used as a fish poison

Cultivation: Cultivated

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org