Euphorbia grandicornis

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Euphorbia grandicornis
Euphorbia grandicornis in Jardin de Cactus on Lanzarote, June 2013 (2).jpg
Euphorbia grandicornis in the Jardín de Cactus in Guatiza on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Euphorbia
Species:
E. grandicornis
Binomial name
Euphorbia grandicornis
Blanc (1888)
Subspecies [2]
  • Euphorbia grandicornis subsp. grandicornis
  • Euphorbia grandicornis subsp. sejunctaL.C.Leach
Synonyms [3]

synonyms of E. grandicornis subsp. grandicornis:

  • Euphorbia grandialataR.A.Dyer (1937)
  • Euphorbia grandidensK.I.Goebel (1889), sphalm.

Euphorbia grandicornis, the cow's horn plant, is a succulent plant of the Euphorbiaceae or spurge family. It is native to the KwaZulu-Natal province and the Northern Provinces of South Africa and to Mozambique and Eswatini. [2] [4]

Contents

The specific epithet "grandicornis" means "with large horns," and refers to the pairs of spines, which look like the horns of a bull. [5]

Description

Euphorbia grandicornis is a shrub with succulent, spiny stems that reaches a size of 0.5–2 m in height. Small leaves are formed between the spines but later drop off; the stems do the bulk of the photosynthesis. It is much branched from the base, with thorns, the branches 3-angled, erect or ascending, very deeply constricted in segments, subsagittate-ovate or reniform-sagittate, 5–13 cm long and 5 – 15 cm in diameter. [5] [6] [7]

The fruit is showy and pops open when ripe. [6]

It is found in dense dry mixed forest, on granite slopes, and on rocks, at elevations of 40 to 700 meters. [8]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are accepted: [2]

Uses

It is grown as a houseplant in temperate regions. [9]

Chemical constituents of E. grandicornis have been studied for their use in cancer treatment. [10]

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References

  1. Osborne, J. (2019). "Euphorbia grandicornis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . IUCN. 2019: e.T120955787A120980233. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T120955787A120980233.en .
  2. 1 2 3 Euphorbia grandicornis Blanc. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  3. Euphorbia grandicornis subsp. grandicornis. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  4. Roskov Y.; Kunze T.; Orrell T.; Abucay L.; Paglinawan L.; Culham A.; Bailly N.; Kirk P.; Bourgoin T.; Baillargeon G.; Decock W.; De Wever A.; Didžiulis V., eds. (2019). "Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2019 Annual Checklist". Catalogue of Life. TaxonID: 43043980. Archived from the original (ZIP) on 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  5. 1 2 "NParks | Euphorbia grandicornis". www.nparks.gov.sg. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  6. 1 2 "Plant database entry for Cow's Horn (Euphorbia grandicornis) with 19 images, one comment, and 25 data details". garden.org. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  7. "Euphorbia grandicornis". www.llifle.com. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  8. Blanc (1888), In: Hints Cacti, ed. 2: 68
  9. "Эуфорбия (молочай) - Все о комнатных растениях на flowersweb.info". www.flowersweb.info. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  10. Kemboi, Douglas; Langat, Moses K.; Siwe-Noundou, Xavier; Krause, Rui W. M.; Isaacs, Michelle Louise; Tembu, Vuyelwa Jacqueline (25 Mar 2022). "In vitro antibacterial and cytotoxic effects of Euphorbia grandicornis Blanc chemical constituents". BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. 22 (1): 90. doi: 10.1186/s12906-022-03571-8 . ISSN   2662-7671. PMC   8957186 . PMID   35337309.