Euphorbia maleolens

Euphorbia maleolens, commonly known in Afrikaans as the stinkvingerpol (stinking finger tuft), is a dwarf succulent without spines growing from a substantial, obovoid, tuberous rootstock. Finger-like stems radiate angled up from the perimeter of the flat, above-ground top of the main plant body that is mainly hidden in the ground.

The plant is smelly. Either the latex in plant parts exude the foul stench, or it comes from a sticky secretion of the glands. The specific epithet, maleolens, derived from the Latin words male meaning badly and olens meaning smelly, stinking or musty, refers to this smell.

The species distribution in South Africa is mainly in Limpopo, although the photo was taken in North West, not too far away. Across the national border the plants are found in Botswana, possibly also in Zimbabwe.

The habitat is mixed bushveld where E. maleolens grows in sandy soil. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Germishuizen and Fabian, 1982; iNaturalist; JSTOR; http://www.llifle.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).