Euphorbia thymifolia, the red caustic-creeper, is a prostrate annual herb of the family Euphorbiaceae. Native to tropical and subtropical America, it grows in seasonally dry tropical biomes and produces milky sap. The plant has velvet-hairy red stems up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long, with small ovate leaves and minute cyathia flowers in the leaf axils. Widely used as a traditional medicine in Africa and Asia, it is also harvested as food and traded in local markets.
From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is it poisonous?
Considered toxic. Public sources list it as such; we have not verified this individually. The note covers its whole genus. Milky latex irritates skin and eyes; toxic if eaten Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
- Euphorbia dioeca — considered toxic
- Euphorbia humistrata — considered toxic
- Euphorbia mendezii — considered toxic
- Euphorbia prostrata — considered toxic
- Euphorbia blodgettii — considered toxic
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Malpighiales
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
- Genus
- Euphorbia
- Species
- Euphorbia thymifolia
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