Euphorbiaceae FAMILY

Euphorbia ampliphylla

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

Although we have seen no specific information for this plant, the latex in most, if not all Euphorbias is caustic and toxic - skin contact often causing irritation and blistering; contact with the eyes causing temporary or even permanent blindness; whilst ingestion can cause purging or more severe problems[ K Title Plants for a Future Author Ken Fern Description Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips. ].

Botanical Description

Euphorbia ampliphylla is a spiny, succulent, evergreen tree, the primary branches ascending, rebranching irregularly and more or less densely at the apices to form a spreading rounded crown. It usually grows up to 10 metres tall, though specimens up to 30 metres have been recorded. The bole can be around 90cm in diameter[ 308 Title Flora Zambesiaca Publication Author Website http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants. ]. The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeEast tropical Africa - Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia.

HabitatMontane forests[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Well-drained rocky slopes with evergreen moister forest; often left after clearance; Podocarpus latifolius, Olea capensis forest; at elevations from 1,200 - 2,700 metres[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. ].