General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Cactus/Succulent
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Full Sun to Partial Shade
Plant Height: 6-15 feet
Leaves: Deciduous
Fruit: Pops open explosively when ripe
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Other: In the genus Euphorbia, the flowers are reduced in size and aggregated into a cluster of flowers called a cyathium (plural cyathia). This feature is present in every species of the genus Euphorbia but nowhere else in the plant kingdom.
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Suitable Locations: Xeriscapic
Dynamic Accumulator: B (Boron)
Resistances: Deer Resistant
Rabbit Resistant
Squirrels
Toxicity: Other: All members of the genus Euphorbia produce a milky sap called latex that is toxic and can range from a mild irritant to very poisonous.
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots
Miscellaneous: With thorns/spines/prickles/teeth
Dioecious

Image
Common names
  • Euphorbia
Also sold as:
  • Euphorbia venefica

Photo Gallery
Location: Baja California
Date: 2021-03-05
Location: Baja California
Date: 2020-04-05
Location: Baja California
Date: 2021-04-02
Male phase, with carpet beetles
Location: Baja California
Date: 2021-03-05
Location: Baja California
Date: 2021-03-05
Cyathium, leaf scar, stipular spine
Location: Baja California
Date: 2021-04-02
Nectar and pollen on offer

photo credit: Frank Vincentz
Location: Baja California
Date: 2020-07-02
Leafing out in early summer
Location: Baja California
Date: 2020-10-31
Third wave of new growth this year. Dirty after months of drought
Location: Baja California
Date: 2020-08-26

photo credit: Frank Vincentz
Location: At a Cactus and Succulent show
Date: Apr 4, 2009 11:55 AM
Uploaded by LAGardengirl
Location: Baja California
Date: 2021-08-25
Comments:
  • Posted by Baja_Costero (Baja California - Zone 11b) on Jan 9, 2016 6:35 PM concerning plant:
    Original species spelling venefica invalid because it does not mean the right thing in Latin... should be venenifica (poison-making) as the Latin word for poison is venenum not venum. The abbreviated spelling would translate to "vein-making".

    This plant is a (highly poisonous) shrub in the landscape after many years, but it makes an excellent container plant, given good drainage and lots of light. It loses its leaves in the winter and flowers while leafless in the spring. The flowers are tiny and the sexual parts are very shy.

    This species is closely related to other highly toxic West African succulent Euphorbias, including poissonii and unispina. It may be difficult to resolve the members of this group.
  • Posted by eclayne (Pioneer Valley south, MA, USA - Zone 6a) on Aug 29, 2015 1:34 PM concerning plant:
    Per the International Plant Names Index regarding the spelling Euphorbia venenifica "Brown (in Fl. Trop. Africa 6(1): 562. 1911) cited the name as "Euphorbia venenifica Tremaux ex Kotschy" (an error)."

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