Euphorbia tirucalli

Pencil tree ( Euphorbia tirucalli )

Called The pencil tree ( Euphorbia tirucalli ), including milk or rubber bush hedge, a plant belonging to the family of Euphorbiaceae is ( Euphorbiaceae ). He comes from the tropical eastern and southern Africa. This species was naturalized in many countries.

Description

The pencil shrub reaches a shrub or small tree with pencil- thick, green, smooth, succulent branches, the growth heights of up to 7 meters. It contains a milky sap. The oval leaves are 1 to 2.5 cm long and 3-4 mm wide; they usually fall off early. The yellow flowers appear at the ends of the branches.

Distribution and habitat requirements

The milk bush came in arid areas, particularly in the savannah, are met, and low habitat requirements. Native he is in Angola, Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia; The species was introduced in Brazil, India, Vietnam, the Philippines and Ghana. With respect to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia and Sudan, it is unclear whether the species is native or there has also been introduced.

Use

The plant is very fast growing and will be used for planting in hedges.

They gained particular interest as the " benzinliefernde " type, since it is suitable for the production of fuel. Milk bush produces a poisonous milky juice, which can be converted into a gasoline- like liquid with little effort. Melvin Calvin suggested to use the milk bush as an oil- producing plant. This use is therefore recommended, because the plant can grow on land that is not suitable for most other crops, and therefore does not cause lower food production. Calvin estimated that 10 to 50 barrels of oil per acre could be produced. In the 1980s, the Brazilian national oil company Petrobras began with experiments based on Calvin's proposals.

Furthermore, the milk bush is used in traditional medicine of different cultures. In Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia Malabar and has used it for the fight against cancer, tumors and warts, as well as for asthma, cough, earache, neuralgia, rheumatism and toothache.

Synonyms

Synonyms are: Euphorbia laro Drake, Euphorbia media NEBr, Euphorbia rhipsalioides Lem, Euphorbia rhipsaloides Willd, Euphorbia suareziana Croizat, Euphorbia tirucalli var rhipsaloides ( Willd.) Chev. .. .