Mother's old plant, never identified.

Jo Gandara

Old Garden Guru
Joined
May 27, 2018
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Texas
Hardiness Zone
8B - 9A
Country
United States
Back in 1996, when she was growing older, Mom gave me her plants that she didn't have the energy to care for.
I can identify a lot of plants but this one has alluded me.

It almost looks like it could be related to a poinsettia. It has white sap. It roots easily. This one is well over 24 years old.

Mom called it a "Redbird bush" but I've never found anything called that.
Once every 5-8 years it gets little "redbird" shaped tiny flowers.

Anyone seen this before?
Thanks.
IMG_20180527_201544.jpg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20180527_201532.jpg
    IMG_20180527_201532.jpg
    111.2 KB · Views: 202

Jo Gandara

Old Garden Guru
Joined
May 27, 2018
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Texas
Hardiness Zone
8B - 9A
Country
United States
Looks like I need to pump up some minerals on mine, it rarely blossoms. Now that I can tell what it is, I can feed it properly.
Thanks everyone!
 
Joined
Oct 8, 2017
Messages
6,997
Reaction score
5,128
Location
Birmingham, AL USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
Country
United States
Excellent! Identifying plants is hard for me and I amglad to get close to a bullseye! I read the wiki when I was looking and found these interesting points also:


ToxicityEdit


The roots, stems, and leaves of the plant are known to be toxic.[4][18] These parts of the plant contain euphorbol (a complex terpene) and other diterpene esters.[4][18] These are also known carcinogens.[4][18] The plant's leaves and stems also contain beta-sitosterol, cycloartenone, octacosanol, and oxime, all of which have known medicinal as well as toxic properties.[20]

Even minor amounts (a few drops) of the juice of the Euphorbia tithymaloides root can irritate mucosal membranes.[18] When ingested, the irritation of the mucosal membranes of the stomach and intestines will cause nausea and vomiting.[4][18] Topical application causes skin irritation, inflammation, and even blisters.[4][18] If introduced topically to the eye, severe pain, keratoconjunctivitis, and reduced visual actuity occur.[4][18] Ingesting even a few seeds can cause violent and persistent vomiting and extreme diarrhea.[18]

If latex or root juice gets on the skin, the victim should immediately wash with soap and warm water.[18] If latex or juice gets in the eye, continuous rinsing with fresh water should be the first course of action.[18] Topical steroids are indicated for skin or eye contact.[18]Intravenous fluids are often administered to counteract the fluid loss due to vomiting and diarrhea.[18]


Medicinal usageEdit

The root is known to be a powerful emetic.[2][18] A proteolytic enzyme known as pedilanthain can be extracted from the plant's latex, and has been shown in experiments to be effective against intestinal worms and to reduce inflammation when ingested.[18][20] In 1995, a galactose-specific lectin was purified from the plant's latex, and indications are that it might be useful in combatting diabetes mellitus.[21]

In folk medicine, tea has been brewed from the leaves which has been used to treat asthma, persistent coughing, laryngitis, mouth ulcers, and venereal disease.[18] Tea brewed from the root has been used as an abortifacient.[18] The latex has been used topically to treat calluses, ear ache, insect stings, ringworm, skin cancer, toothache, umbilical hernias, and warts.[18] None of these uses has been scientifically verified as effective.[18] In the West Indies, a few drops of the latex is added to milk and used as an emetic.[4]
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads


Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
27,867
Messages
264,616
Members
14,600
Latest member
Maliki

Latest Threads

Top