Euphorbia lactea Haworth, Euphorbiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 8 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: candelabra cactus, candelabra spurge, dragon bones, elkhorn, false cactus, frilled fan, hatrack cactus, milkstripe euphorbia, mottled candlestick, mottled spurge

Spanish: candelero, lechero de lindero

Habit:  tree

Description:  "This cactus-like shrub or small tree planted for ornament and in hedges is easily identified as a spurge by the abundant white ;poisonous latex that flows from cuts.  Other distinguishing characters are: (1) fleshy or succulent green stems and branches 3-angled and 1-3 inches across; and (2) leaves minute and shedding early, represented by paired gray spines (stipules) 1/4-1/8 inch long from raised edges or ridges of branches.

"A usually leafless but evergreen shrub or small tree to 25 feet high and 6 inches in trunk diameter, with fleshy or succulent stems, much branched, hairless throughout.  Stems with whorls of branches nearly to base but on large plants shedding the spiny tissue and developing a rounded brown, fissured trunk.  The 3-angled (sometimes 4-angled) branches are mostly joints 4-12 inches long and 1-3 inches across, slightly shiny dark green, with yellowish or whitish streak in the groove of the axis between the angles.  White latex runs abundantly from the outer part of cut stems.  The soft cut branches have a light green outer layer less than 1/8 inch thick, which yields latex, and within whitish watery tissue, slightly bitter.  Raised leaf bases 1/4-1/2 inch high and about 3/4-1 inch apart along the edges of branches correspond to nodes and bear paired spreading gray spines (stipules).  The few scattered leaves are alternate, minute, stalkless, rounded, 1/8-1/4 inch long, slightly shiny green, succulent, slightly thick and shedding early, or absent. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, borne intermittently"  (Little et al., 1974; pp. 410-411).

Habitat/ecology:  "These plants with succulent stems and water storage tissue are adapted to dry regions.  Like cacti, they have developed similar compact for with reduced surface and less water loss, also green stems replacing leaves in food manufacture."  In Puerto Rico, "escaping from cultivation, spreading and forming thickets in some places" (Little et al., 1974; pp. 410-411).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Widely cultivated, presumed origin in tropical Asia" (GRIN)

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island	introduced	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Baltra Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy (2010) (p. 16)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 85)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Taha‘a Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 43)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Makatea (Ma‘atea) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Makatea (Ma‘atea) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. (2000) (p. 21)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2012) (p. 35) Voucher cited: OED 2010062201 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2012) (p. 35) Voucher cited: OED 2009063002 (BISH)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 100)
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 93)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Ngerkebesang Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. Field notes)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	introduced	Little, Elbert L./Woodbury, Roy O./Wadsworth, Frank H. (1974) (p. 410) Cultivated?
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 40) Cultivated only

Additional information:
Additional online information about Euphorbia lactea is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Euphorbia lactea as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Euphorbia lactea may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Florence, J. 1997. Flore de la Polynésie française, Vol. 1. Paris. Editions de l'Orstom, Institut Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération, Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales 34. 393 pp.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2012. New plant records for the Hawaiian Islands 2010-2011. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2011. Part II: Plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 113:27-54.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

Little, Elbert L./Woodbury, Roy O./Wadsworth, Frank H. 1974. Common trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, vol. 2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook No. 449. 1024 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy. 2010. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 26 pp.

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie. 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species. USDA Forest Service, Hilo, Hawai‘i. 227 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Tropical ornamentals: a guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 542 pp.

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.