Bitterroot Restoration

Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Common name: Lanka sij(Beng.); Firestick Plants, Indian Tree Spurge, Naked Lady, Pencil Tree, Sticks on Fire or Milk Bush(Eng.).
Life cycle:
Native Range: It has a wide distribution in Africa, being prominently present in northeastern, central and southern Africa. Euphorbia tirucalli may also be native in other parts of the continent as well as some surrounding islands and the Arabian peninsula and has been introduced to many other tropical regions.

The Euphorbia tirucalli is a many-branched, succulent plant, usually 3-5 m but may reach 10 m on occasion. Their bark of very old specimens is grey and rough with longitudinal dents and ridges that break up into very small fragments. Their leaves are small and slender, up to 12 x 1.5 mm, rarely seen, as they fall very early. Their flowers are yellow, inconspicuous, and carried in clusters at the apex of the short branches or in the angles of branches. Their fruits are tripartite capsules (divided into three parts), about 12 mm in diameter, longitudinally very slightly lobed, short-stalked (8 mm), pale green, with a pink tinge and conspicuously pubescent (clothed with soft hairs).

It also has uses in traditional medicine in many cultures. It has been used to treat cancers, excrescences, tumors, and warts in such diverse places as Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malabar and Malaysia. It has also been used as an application for asthma, cough, earache, neuralgia, rheumatism, toothache, and warts in India. There is some interest in Euphorbia tirucalli as a cancer treatment. However it has been associated with Burkitt's lymphoma and thought to be a cofactor of the disease rather than a treatment.