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Euphorbia poissonii

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Great looking plant by Baja Costero, Garden.org.


A young plant from Cactus-art.biz.


A small picture of a large plant from Prota4u.org.


A strange looking plant in culture by Daderot, Wikimedia.org.

Author: 

Ferdinand Albin Pax, 1902

Family:  EUPHORBIACEAE
Origin: 

Benin, Burkina, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria, Togo

Soil: 

Mix - Grit

Water: 

Medium

Sun: 

Maximum

Thickness: 

15 Centimetres

Height: 

200 Centimetres

Flower: 

Pale Greenish / Red

Propagate: 

Seeds/Cuttings

Names: 

Candle Plant, Cylindrical Euphorbia

Synonyms: 

By mistake; Euphorbia poissoni and  Euphorbia poisoni.

This member of the Euphorbiaceae family was given this name by Ferdinand Albin Pax in 1902. It is found in Benin, Burkina, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria and Togo. It is growing in a well drained or gritty soil with some water and lots of sun. The main stem can grow to fifteen centimetres in diameter, the entire plant to 200 centimetres in height. The flowers are pale greenish with red stamens.

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 for the French botanist Henri Louis Poisson, 1877-1963, who were into Euphorbias.

Useful fact: In Nigeria, the  local farmers extract its latex for use as a pesticide, while the Berom people use it as protection against witchcraft.


Medium sized plant from Plantingman.com.