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Euphorbia polycephala

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Photo from Succulent Euphorbias.


Photo by David Gwynne-Evans, Casabio.org.

Author: Hermann Wilhelm Rudolf Marloth, 1931
Family:  EUPHORBIACEAE
Origin:  South-Eastern South Africa
Soil:  Mix
Water:  Medium
Sun:  Maximum
Thickness:  12 Centimetres
Height:  30 Centimetres
Flower:  Brownish - Yellow
Propagate:  Seeds/Cuttings
Names:  -
Synonyms:  -

This member of the Euphorbiaceae family was given this name by Hermann Wilhelm Rudolf Marloth in 1931. It is found in south eastern South Africa, growing in a well drained soil with some water and lots of sun. The caudex can grow to twelve centimetres in diameter, the entire plant to 30 centimetres in height. The flowers are brownish to yellow.

The genera name; Euphorbia dates back to the first century BC, where King Juba II of Mauritania used it in a reference to his doctor, Euphorbos, and that name was kept as a generic name by Carl von Linnaeus. The species name; polycephala means "Many headed".


The flowers from Gadi.agric.za.