Euphorbia tirucalli yellow cyathia

The colour of these Euphorbia tirucalli cyathia or false flowers is the common creamy yellow to yellow-green. The clusters are dense upon the smooth green stem tips.

In Mpumalanga flowering time is from winter to early summer. This photo was taken of a planted specimen in a Karoo garden flowering in April.

Even if E. tirucalli is not considered pretty enough for the garden, it will keep moles away, some say even mosquitoes. If it does not scare snakes, the good news is that the plant can be used in the treatment of snakebite. The way to do this a mystery though, not to be tried by amateurs.

The tirucalli specific name was already conferred upon the plant by Linnaeus in 1753. That was the common name used for the plant in the Indian language spoken in Malabar.

The plant is believed to have no natural enemies, a possibility endorsed by its wide distribution. This distribution has been increased by people planting it in new regions to such an extent that its natural domain boundaries are in some parts uncertain (Smith, et al, 2017; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Pooley, 1993; Van Wyk, 1984; iNaturalist; https://hort.purdue.edu).