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Candelabra Spurge
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Candelabra Spurge
ative Photo: Gurcharan Singh
Common name: Candelabra Spurge, Frilled Fan Spurge, Mottled Spurge, Elkhorn
Botanical name: Euphorbia lactea 'cristata'    Family: Euphorbiaceae (Castor family)

Candelabra Spurge is a crested cactus with intricately undulating fan-shaped branches forming a snaky ridge or crowded cluster. It is an erect shrub growing up to 5 m tall, with succulent branches 3-5 cm diameter, ridged, with a triangular or rhombic cross-section. The ridges are spiny, with short spines up to 5 mm long. The leaves are minute, and soon deciduous. All parts of the plant contain a poisonous milky latex. It is used medicinally in India. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant, both in the tropics, and as a houseplant in temperate regions; a number of cultivars have been selected for ornamental use.

Identification credit: Gurcharan Singh Photographed in Delhi.

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