Botanical name: Euphorbia tortilis    Family: Euphorbiaceae (Castor family)

Spiral Spurge is a shrub or small tree, up to 3 m tall, with stems branched, branches spirally twisted, 3- winged or 3-angled; podaria about 3 mm projecting; spines 2, divaricate, 4-7 mm long, hard, black or brown. Leaves are tiny, stalkless or nearly stalkless, ovate-nearly round, blunt at base, entire, blunt to somewhat pointed at tip, 4-6 x 4-5 mm, hairless, fleshy, early falling off; nerves indistinct. Cyathia arise in fascicles, triads or solitary; primary flower-cluster-stalks in fascicles, about 5 mm long; bracts broadly triangular, blunt, about 2 x 2.5 mm; involucre cup-shaped, about 4 x 3 mm; lobes 5, glands 5, transversely oblong or nearly round, fleshy, about 2 x 1.5 mm, yellow. Male florets are in 5 fascicles of 5-9 flowers each; flower-stalks about 2 mm long, hairless; anthers almost spherical; bracteoles broad spathaceous, deeply laciniate-fringed at tip, about 2.5 mm long. Female florets have gynophore about 1 mm long, hairless; ovary spherical, about 4 mm in diameter, hairless; styles fused; stigma wavy. Fruits are 5-7 mm in diameter, sharply keeled. Spiral Spurge is found in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Flowering: September-November.

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The flower labeled Spiral Spurge is ...