EUPHORBIA POISSONII

This member of the Euphorbiaceae family was given this name by Ferdinand Albin Pax in 1902. It is found in Benin, Burkina, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria and Togo. It is growing in a well drained or gritty soil with some water and lots of sun. The main stem can grow to fifteen centimetres in diameter, the entire plant to 200 centimetres in height. The flowers are pale greenish with red stamens.

The genera name; Euphorbia dates back to the first century BC, where King Juba II of Mauritania used it in a reference to his doctor, Euphorbos, and that name was kept as a generic name by Carl von Linnaeus. The species name for the French botanist Henri Louis Poisson, 1877-1963, who were into Euphorbias. Useful fact: In Nigeria, the local farmers extract its latex for use as a pesticide, while the Berom people use it as protection against witchcraft. Medium sized plant from Plantingman.com.