I'm not sure about abdelkuri being all that toxic, given the competition. It's toxic to livestock but a lot of the others are too. Maybe the prestige and selectivity of the species (being extremely uncommon in cultivation) gives it additional magical properties?
Just guessing here.
Two different clones of resinifera here in the public garden... not getting much water, growing pretty slowly. That's a fun plant to grow but it needs a lot of light, and it does have the potential to grow big. On the second, smaller plant you can still clearly identify the original stem used to start it, a really tall thing compared to the rest of the growth, a clear sign of greenhouse cultivation (which ended shortly after the cutting was rooted).
This question of toxicity that you bring up is actually quite practical as a gardening matter. We have ground squirrels and hares here which will eat nearly anything if they are sufficiently hungry/thirsty. But not the succulent Euphorbias (at least the ones I've tried). They'll be nibbled here and there but I get the sense that the first bite is the last bite. One time a bunny grazed on a polygona and actually ate a whole serving. I suspect that may have been a fatal dose because there was no repeat.
Glochids are laughing stock compared to those. At least you can pull most of them out.
