Euphorbia lactea Haworth, Euphorbiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: candelabra cactus, candelabra spurge, dragon bones, false cactus, 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 (2007)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2005) (p. 14)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (1998) (p. 19)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
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 Tuamotu Archipelago	Makatea (Ma‘atea) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
French Polynesia Tubuai (Austral) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (1997) (p. 64)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. (2000) (p. 21)
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)

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?

Comments:  Reported as possibly an invasive plant in the Galápagos Islands per Charles Darwin Research Station.

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

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

References:

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

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.

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

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, Tim. 1998. Checklist of the plants of Pohnpei. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 21 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 2005. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 23 pp.

McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.

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. 2007. 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.