Euphorbia lactea Haw. (4-4a-4b) dalam Bahasa Indonesia klik di sini
Euphorbia lactea Haw. (4-4a-4b)

Source: Private document, 2022

Taxonomy
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiosperms
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Euphorbia
Species: Euphorbia Lactea Haw.
(Syn. Pl., 1912)

Fruit

Branch


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Source: Private document, 2022

Morphology
Euphorbia lactea Haw. is a plant originally from Sri Lanka which is widely commercialized as an ornamental plant. This plant is one of the cultivated plants which has been so successfully naturalized that in some countries it is widely used as a hedge plant. The stems of this plant are greenand also purplish-red ones. The older the branches are the more greenish will be. The stem is succulent with 3 up to 5 cm in diameter and serrated. It has short spines of about 5 mm. Its branches are ordinary growing in length reaching 10-30 cm. The leaves are round, small, and easy to fall, growing on each internode near to the spines. The plant can grow up to 5 meters. In addition, this type of plant can grow over a long period of time (Pier, 2016; Prota, 2016).

Distribution & Habitat
This plant grows in the tropic as well as subtropic areas. Nowadays, this plant is already widely cultivated and naturalized in Asia, America, India, and the island in the Pacific Ocean. The plant generally grows in dryland, coastal, and sand dunes areas (USDA-ARS, 2016).

Potential
This plant has a sap containing toxins that are harmful for body. If blood sugar is contaminated with toxins, it triggers abnormal cells to develop in the body (Cataluna & Rates, 2015). In addition, this plant contains flavonoid and phenol that are rich in antioxidant, and it can cure burns (Maulid, 2014).

Usability
This plant is widely used for medical purposes in India, East Asia, Africa and South America to treat diseases such as syphilis, asthma, cancer, abdominal pain, eradicating parasites in the intestines, skin diseases, and leprosy (Cataluna & Rates, 2015). The stem can be used as a burn medicine by boiling the stem, and after the boiled water is cold it can be used as a compresser. In addition, because this plant has a unique and interesting shape. It is widely used as an ornamental plant in temperate climate areas.

References
Rojas-Sandoval J. (2016). Euphorbia lactea (mottled spurge). Invasive Species Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CABI. DOI:10.1079/ISC.119812.20203483548

Anonimus (2009) . Poisonous plants: Euphorbia lactea. The Wayback Machine.

Cataluna P, Rates S. (2015) The Traditional Use of the Latex From Euphorbia tirucalli Linnaeus (Euphorbiaceae) in the Treatment of Cancer in South Brazil.

Pier, 2016. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk. Hear, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA.

Prota ( 2016). Prot4 Web Database. Grubben GJH, Denton OA,eds. Wagenigen, Netherlands: Plants Resources of Tropical Africa.