Skip to main content

Devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)

Dlium Devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)

Devil's-backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides) are plant species in Euphorbiaceae, upright, evergreen, gummy shrubs, growing in tropical and subtropical regions.

E. tithymaloides likes sandy soils especially with high concentrations of boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc. This bush grows to 2.4 m high and 61 cm wide. Simple angiosperm leaves, arranged opposite to the stem where each leaf is sessile with a length of 3.6-7.6 cm.



The stem has the tip of a handle that supports a group of flowers that are not scented. Bifid crown and ovoid. The involucral bracts are bright red, irregular in shape and length from 1.1 to 1.3 mm. Hairy male and female pedicels.

Seed pods are 7.6 mm long, 8.9 mm wide and ovate with clipped ends. Devil's-backbone generally blooms in mid-spring in the subtropical region and in the dry season in the tropics. Pollination is carried out by ants and birds.

The roots, stems and leaves are known to be poisonous. Plant is used to fight intestinal worms and is useful for diabetes mellitus. Leaves to treat asthma, coughing, sore throat, mouth sores and venereal disease. Root is used as an abortion of patients. Latex to treat calluses, earaches, insect stings, skin cancer, toothache, umbilical hernia and warts. A few drops of latex are added to the milk as an emetic.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Subfamily: Euphorbioideae
Tribe: Euphorbieae
Subtribe: Euphorbiinae
Genus: Euphorbia
Subgenus: Euphorbia
Section: Crepidaria L. in Sp. Pl.: 450 (1753)
Species: Euphorbia tithymaloides L. in Sp. Pl.: 453 (1753)
Subspecies: Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. angustifolia (Poit.) V.W.Steinm., Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. bahamensis (Millsp.) Govaerts, Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. jamaicensis (Millsp. & Britton) V.W.Steinm., Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. padifolia (L.) V.W.Steinm., Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. parasitica (Boiss. ex Klotzsch) V.W.Steinm., Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. retusa (Benth.) V.W.Steinm., Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. smallii (Millsp.) V.W.Steinm., Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. tithymaloides

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Pedilanthus tithymaloides (L.) Poit. in Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. 19: 390 (1812)
Tithymalus tithymaloides (L.) Croizat in Amer. J. Bot. 24: 704 (1937)

PUBLICATIONS

Aung, Y.L., Aung, M.H., Tan, Y. & Jin, X. (2025). An updated checklist of vascular plants of Myanmar. PhytoKeys 261: 135-364.

Brundu, G. & Camarda, I. (2013). The Flora of Chad: a checklist and brief analysis. PhytoKeys 23: 1-18.

Garcia-Mendoza, A.J. & Meave, J.A. (eds.) (2012). Diversidad florística de Oaxaca: de musgos a angiospermas (colecciones y listas de especies), ed. 2: 1-351. Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Idárraga-Piedrahita, A., Ortiz, R.D.C., Callejas Posada, R. & Merello, M. (eds.) (2011). Flora de Antioquia: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares 2: 1-939. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín.

Jones, M. (1991). A checklist of Gambian plants: 1-33. Michael Jones, The Gambia College.

Jørgensen, P.M., Nee, M.H. & Beck., S.G. (eds.) (2013). Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de Bolivia. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 127: 1-1741. Missouri Botanical Garden.

Pasha, M.K. & Uddin, S.B. (2013). Dictionary of plant names of Bangladesh, Vasc. Pl.: 1-434. Janokalyan Prokashani, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Plunkett, G.M., Ranker, T.A., Sam, C. & Balick, M.J. (2022). Towards a checklist of the vascular flora of Vanuatu. Candollea 77: 105-118.

VERNACULAR NAME

Chinese (simplified): 红雀珊瑚
Chinese (traditional): 紅雀珊瑚 - 銀龍
English: Devil's backbone, Christmas candle, Devil's-backbone, Japanese poinsettia, Redbird cactus, Zig-Zag plant, Jacob's ladder, Redbird flower, Jewbush, buck-thorn, Cimora misha, Fiddle flower, Jew's slipper, Milk-hedge, Myrtle-leaved spurge, Padus-leaved clipper plant, Red slipper spurge, Slipper flower, Slipper plant, Slipper spurge
Finnish: Mehipolvi
French: Pantoufle, Doigts de Satan ou Doigts du Diable
Hong Kong: 紅雀珊瑚
Indonesian: Pohon Sig-Sag, Pokok lipan, Penawar lipan, Penawar lilin
Japanese: ギンリュウ
Macao: 紅雀珊瑚
Mexico: Aapatilla del diablo
Portuguese: Sapatinho do Diabo
Russian: Педилантус титималоидный
Slovak: Mliečnik červenopohárikový
Spanish: Pítamo real, Itamo real, Candelilla, Bítamo, Zapatilla del diablo, Zapatico
Taiwan: 銀龍
Thai: แสยก

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica)

Cogon grass ( Imperata cylindrica ) is a species of plant in the Poaceae, an annual grass, sharp leaves, long and scaly shoots, creeping underground, white or purplish flowers, very adaptive and grows in all climates. I. cylindrica has sharply pointed shoot tips that emerge from the ground, up to 3 meters high, short stems, rising above the ground surface. Leaves are long ribbon-shaped, pointed tip, narrow base, up to 100 cm long, very rough and sharply serrated edges, long hairs at the base and wide veins. Inflorescences in panicles, up to 28 cm long, spikes long-haired and white to 1 cm. The seeds spread quickly with the wind or via rhizomes that quickly penetrate the soil. This species grows in tropical to subtropical areas, elevation up to 2000 meters, temperature 20-40C, rainfall 500-3500 mm/year, pH 4-7.5, lots of sunlight to a bit of shade. This plant dominates open land, former forests, dry rice fields, roadsides and so on. This plant contains mannitol, glucose, sacharose...
Read more

Liberian coffee (Coffea liberica)

Liberian coffee ( Coffea liberica ) is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family, a tree up to 20 meters tall, with numerous, radial and irregular branches, brown bark, and linear fissures. The leaves are oval, thick, up to 35 cm long, up to 20 cm long, shiny green, and have petioles up to 1 cm long. The fruit is round to oval, irregular, and up to 2 cm wide. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Gentianales Family: Rubiaceae Subfamily: Ixoroideae Tribe: Coffeeae Genus: Coffea L. in Sp. Pl.: 172 (1753) Species: Coffea liberica W.Bull in Nursery Cat. (William Bull) 97: 4 (1874) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Coffea abeokutae Cramer in Meded. Dept. Landb. Ned.-Indië 11: 286, 396 (1913) Coffea abeokutae var. camerunensis A.Chev. in Encycl. Biol. 22: t. 44 (1942) Coffea abeokutae var. indeniensis (Siebert) A.Chev. (1942) Coffea abeokutae var. longicarpa Portères in Ann. Agric. Afrique Occ. 1(2): 224 (1937) Coffea abeokutae var. macrocarpa...
Read more

A deep-sea isopod Bathyopsurus nybelini adapted to feed submerged Sargassum algae

NEWS - Incredible footage shows a marine species, Bathyopsurus nybelini , feeding on something that sinks from the ocean’s surface. Researchers using the submersible Alvin found the isopod swimming 3.7 miles down using its paddle-like legs to catch an unexpected food source: Sargassum. Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of Montana, SUNY Geneseo, Willamette University and the University of Rhode Island found the algae sinking, while the isopod waited and adapted specifically to find and feed on the sinking nutrient source. The Sargassum lives on the surface for photosynthesis. The discovery of a deep-sea animal that relies on food that sinks from the waters miles above underscores the close relationship between the surface and the deep. “It’s fascinating to see this beautiful animal actively interacting with sargassum, so deep in the ocean. This isopod is extremely rare; only a handful of specimens were collected during the groundbreaking Swedis...
Read more