African milk barrel

English

African milk barrel (Euphorbia polygona var. horrida)

A cultivated specimen of African milk barrel

Etymology

Named for the white latex released whenever one of the cylindrical stems is pierced or cut.

Noun

African milk barrel (uncountable)

1. A type of succulent plant, resembling a small cactus, of species Euphorbia polygona var. horrida, previously known as Euphorbia horrida.
   • 2020 March 10, Misa Matsuyama, “Euphorbia horrida”, in The Gardener's Guide to Succulents: A Handbook of Over 125 Exquisite Varieties of Succulents and Cacti, Tuttle Publishing, →ISBN:

     Also called "African milk barrel," this plant has a beautiful silver skin. The lower part is wooden, rather like a tree trunk.

   • 2023 April 11, Paul Rees, The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Cacti and Succulents, Frances Lincoln, →ISBN, page 83:

     African milk barrel is a clump-forming stem succulent native to South Africa, with grey-green stems covered in reddish brown thorns. Flowers form in summer at the tip of each stem.

Hypernyms

• spurge, euphorbia, malvid, fabid, rosid, eudicot, angiosperm, tracheophyte, plant

Translations

Euphorbia polygona var. horrida

• Translingual: Euphorbia polygona var. horrida, Euphorbia horrida

References

• African milk barrel on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Euphorbia horrida on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Euphorbia horrida on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons