nettle

From Middle English netle, netel, from Old English netle, netele, netel, from Proto-West Germanic *natilā (cognate with Old Saxon netila, Middle Dutch netele (modern Dutch netel), German Nessel, Middle Danish nædlæ (“nettle”)), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *natǭ (of unknown origin, perhaps from the same source as net).

Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.

Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:


mercury

en-noun

mercury (countable and uncountable, plural mercuries)

шти̑р (but this more often means purple amaranth)

štȋr (but this more often means purple amaranth)

Towards the tops of the stalks and branches come forth at every joint in the male Mercury two small round green heads, standing together upon a short footstalk, which growing ripe are the seeds, not having any flower.

1653, Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physician Enlarged, Folio Society, published 2007, page 188:

Mercurialis annua
Mercurialis annua#Translingual

An annual plant, annual mercury (Mercurialis annua), formerly grown for its medicinal properties; French mercury, herb mercury.


mercurial

en-adj

mercurial (comparative more mercurial, superlative most mercurial)

more mercurial (comparative)
most mercurial (superlative)

/məːˈkjʊə.ɹɪ.əl/

Noun sense 1 (“(obsolete) plant known as mercury”) is from Middle English mercurial, from Anglo-Norman mercurial and Old French mercurial, or directly from their etymon, from Mercurius (“the Roman god Mercury”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns).
Later adjective and noun uses may have been directly derived from Latin mercuriālis, whence Middle English mercurial (“under the astrological influence of the planet Mercury”).

ref

From the collection of the Wellcome Library in London, England, UK.

cog

Near-synonym: Hermesian

I know the ſhape of's Legge: this is his Hand: / His Foote Mercuriall: his martiall Thigh / The brawnes of Hercules: but his Iouiall face— / Murther in heaven?

1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii], page 390, column 1:

[Benjamin] Franklin, the mechanic of his own fortune, [...] tendering, from the self-created nation, to the mightiest monarchs of Europe, the olive-branch of peace, the mercurial wand of commerce, and the amulet of protection and safety to the man of peace on the pathless ocean from the inexorable cruelty and merciless rapacity of war; [...]

1843 February 8, John Quincey Adams, “Presentation of Washington’s Sword and Franklin’s Staff”, in [Francis Preston] Blair, [John C.] Rives, editors, The Congressional Globe: […] (United States House of Representatives, 27th Congress, 3rd session), volume XII, number 16, Washington, D.C.: Published by Blair and Rives; […], published 10 February 1843, →OCLC, pages 254–255:

(not comparable, Roman mythology) Pertaining to Mercury, the Roman god of, among other things, commerce, financial gain, communication, and thieves and trickery; hence (comparable), money-making; crafty.

Mercurial

pertaining to the Roman god Mercury or planet Mercury


manioc

en-noun

manioc (usually uncountable, plural maniocs)

From French manioc and Spanish mandioca, ultimately from Old Tupi mani'oka.

1975, William R. Bascom, African Dilemma Tales, Mouton (De Gruyter), page 86,
The banana, the most important crop above ground, quarreled with the manioc, the most important underground crop. […] The manioc said that it, the yam, the sweet potato, and others were the ones that fed people and that without them people could not exist.

1977, Donald W. Lathrap, Our Father the Cayman, Our Mother the Gourd, Charles A. Reed (editor), Origins of Agriculture, Mouton (De Gruyter), page 741,
The selection process leading to the bitter group of maniocs has been in terms of higher starch yield and in terms of starch of a quality more appropriate for making bread ans flour.

Manioc, the main subsistence crop of Amazonia, is planted entirely from cuttings, which are inserted into mounds hoed up in the spaces left between the logs and the stumps.

1988, Robert L. Carneiro, “5: Indians of the Amazonian Rainforest”, in Julie Sloan Denslow, Christine Padoch, editors, People of the Tropical Rain Forest, University of California Press, page 82:

Manioc was first reported being grown on the mainland in 1635 at the Portuguese post at Bissau.

1993, Jonathan D. Sauer, Historical Geography of Crop Plants: A Select Roster, CRC Press, page 60:

Manioc gives the highest yield of starch per hectare of any known crop; some 90% of the fabric of the crop can be regarded as potentially fermentable carbohydrate.

2003, Ian Spencer Hornsey, A History of Beer and Brewing, Royal Society of Chemistry, page 26:

Manihot esculenta
Manihot esculenta#Translingual

(countable, uncountable) The tropical plant Manihot esculenta, from which cassava and tapioca are prepared.


cassava

cassava (countable and uncountable, plural cassavas)

From Spanish cazabe, from Taíno *kasabi (“cassava flour”) (compare Garifuna sibiba), from Proto-Arawak *sapi.

Manioc (Manihot esculenta), a tropical plant which is the source of tapioca.

Jucca, ſive Yucca Peruana. The root whereof the bread Caſua, or Cazava is made.

1677, Thomas Holyoke [i.e., Thomas Holyoake], “Jucca”, in A Large Dictionary: In Three Parts: I. The English before the Latin, … II. The Latin before the English, … III. The Proper Names of Persons, Places, and Other Things Necessary to the Understanding of Historians and Poets. …, London: Printed for W[illiam] Rawlins, for G[eorge] Sawbridge, W[illiam] Place, T[homas] Basset, T[homas] Dring, J[ohn] Leigh, and J[ohn] Place, →OCLC:

Tapioca, a starchy pulp made with manioc roots.


tapioca

tapioca (countable and uncountable, plural tapiocas)

→ Maori: tapioka

→ Marshallese: tapioka

→ Tagalog: tapyoka

Borrowed from Portuguese tapioca, from Old Tupi tapi'oka.

When the entire coast-line becomes a sea of waving palms, with Chinese and Malay villages fringing the shores, which are at present mere barren wastes of mangroves, with plantations of pepper, of gambier, and of tapioca and rice, the Northern Territory, backed up by the unswerving energy of the Australian squatter, miner, and planter, will present a spectacle almost unknown in the scheme of British colonization.

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 270:

The cassava plant, Manihot esculenta, from which tapioca is derived; manioc.


spinach

spinach (countable and uncountable, plural spinaches)

From Middle English spinach, from Anglo-Norman spinache, from Old French espinoche, from Old Occitan espinarc, from Arabic إِسْفَانَاخ (ʔisfānāḵ), from Classical Persian اسپناخ (ispanāx, ispināx).

derived

Arabic إِسْفَانَاخ (ʔisfānāḵ)

African spinach

various nightshade, legume, and Cucurbitaceae species

Any of numerous plants, or their leaves, which are used for greens in the same way Spinacia oleraceae is or resemble it in some way.


poinsettia

/ˌpɔɪnˈsɛ.tɪə/

After the obsolete genus name Poinsettia, named after Joel Roberts Poinsett (19th-century US minister to Mexico); equivalent to Poinsett + -ia.

Masses of scarlet Poinsettias glowed bravely against the dark green background formed by broad-leafed plantains, whose great tattered leaves rustled with every gust of wind that reached them.

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 22:

“So red,” she said of the poinsettias behind Florencia, which Jacquie didn’t even like because of how even the real ones look fake.

2018, Tommy Orange, “Jacquie Red Feather”, in There There, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, →ISBN, page 99:

Euphorbia pulcherrima
Euphorbia pulcherrima#Translingual

A plant, Euphorbia pulcherrima, with rather small and insignificant flowers surrounded by large bright red leaves; native to Mexico and Central America and widely cultivated as a garden plant.


yuca

en-noun

yuca (countable and uncountable, plural yucas)

Via Spanish yuca (also historically juca), frequently said to be of Taíno origin. While the word is almost certainly from an indigenous American language, the source is not known. Perhaps from Kari'na yuca (“cassava”) , but this appears to be a ghost word. Doublet of yucca.

unk

not known


kamala

en-noun

kamala (countable and uncountable, plural kamalas)

Borrowed from Sanskrit कमल (kamala, “lotus”).

bor+

Mallotus philippensis
Mallotus philippensis#Translingual

A small or medium-sized tree (Mallotus philippensis) in the spurge family, found in Asia and Australia.

After stating the varieties met with in this country, […] he stated that the chief points to be observed in the treatment [of common tapeworm] were: a preliminary starvation of twenty-four hours, and the administration of a combination of kamala and male fern—namely, two drachms of kamala to be rubbed up with a little gum-and-water till an emulsion is formed, and then two drachms of oil of male fern to be added, and the whole triturated in a mortar, […]

1875 December 4, “Medical Societies: Medical Society of London”, in James G. Wakley, editor, The Lancet, number 2727, London: John James Croft, page 803:

Mallotus Philippinensis, J. M. […] Though not of great importance this bush should not be passed on this occasion, inasmuch as the powdery substance investing the seed capsules constitutes the Kamala, which can be employed not only as an orange dye, but also as an anthelmintic remedy. The Hindoo silk-dyers use it for an orange colour, obtained by boiling the Kamala with carbonate of soda.

1876, Ferd[inand] von Mueller, Select Plants Readily Eligible for Industrial Culture or Naturalisation in Victoria, Melbourne: M‘Carron, Bird & Co., page 124:

In a recent examination of commercial kamalas, the mean percentage of ash found was 35.17 per cent., using a platinum crucible and as high a temperature as a common Bunsen burner would supply.

1907, C[onrad] Lewis Diehl, “Report on the Progress of Pharmacy. From July 1, 1906, to June 30, 1907”, in Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association at the Fifty-Fifth Annual Meeting Held at New York, N. Y., September, 1907 […], Baltimore: American Pharmaceutical Association, page 815:

(usually uncountable) An orange or red powder obtained from the fruit capsules of this plant, used as dyestuff for colouring silk or wool, and employed as an anthelmintic.


castor bean

Ricinus communis
Ricinus communis#Translingual

A castor oil plant, of species Ricinus communis.


manchineel

From Spanish manzanillo, from manzana (“apple”), from Latin malum Matianum (“a kind of apple”).

der

A tropical American tree (Hippomane mancinella), having apple-like, poisonous fruit, and a sap that causes blisters on contact with the skin.


rubber tree

Hevea brasiliensis
Hevea brasiliensis#Translingual

A tropical South American tree, Hevea brasiliensis, the principal source of natural rubber.


euphorbia

A genericization of translingual Euphorbia, Linnaeus's misspelling of Latin euphorbea, from Ancient Greek equivalent to Euphorbus (the Greco-Mauretanian physician to King Juba who described their medicinal properties) + -ea.

Any plant of the genus Euphorbia, the spurges.


spurge

en-noun

spurge (usually uncountable, plural spurges)

Etymology tree
Old French espurgebor.
Middle English spurge
English spurge
Inherited from Middle English spurge, from Old French espurge, from espurgier (“to purge”), from Latin expurgo (“I purge”); the bitter milky sap of these plants was formerly used as a purgative.

etymon

But cockle, spurge, according to their law / Might propagate their kind, with none to awe, / You'd think; a burr had been a treasure trove.

1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section X:

Any plant of the genus Euphorbia, a diverse genus of over 2,000 species.


bleeding heart

Lamprocapnos spectabilis
Lamprocapnos spectabilis#Translingual

Any of various perennial plants, of the family Papaveraceae, subfamily Fumarioideae, often having pink heart-shaped flowers, including:

Dicentra, a genus native to eastern Asia and North America, some species with colors and shape similar to Lamprocapnos spectabilis.


candelilla wax

en-noun

candelilla wax (countable and uncountable, plural candelilla waxes)

a yellow-brown wax obtained from leaves of several plants of the Euphorbia genus


croton

From New Latin crotōn, from Ancient Greek κροτών (krotṓn, “tick”), from the size and shape of the seed.

Any of various plants, of the genus Croton, that yield croton oil.


jumping bean

Mexican jumping bean
Mexican jumping bean


Mexican jumping bean

Mexican jumping bean (plural Mexican jumping beans)

A type of seed of a shrub of the genus Sebastiania in which a larva has hatched from an egg laid there by a moth (Cydia deshaisiana, the movement of the larva causing the seed to move around.

meksikolainen hyppypapu

seed of a Sebastiania shrub with a hatched moth larva


tung tree

/ˈtʊŋ ˌtɹiː/

/ˈtʌŋ ˌtɹiː/

Any of the genus Vernicia, especially Vernicia fordii (syn. Aleurites fordii), of east Asian trees or shrubs cultivated for their seeds which are a source of tung oil.


croton oil

croton oil (countable and uncountable, plural croton oils)

A dark yellow, acrid oil, obtained from the seeds of plants of the genus Croton, once used as a drastic purgative.


milkweed

Any of several plants that have a milky sap and have pods that split to release seeds with silky tufts.

Principally of the genus Asclepias in order Gentianales, family Apocynaceae

Also of the genus Calotropis in order Gentianales, family Apocynaceae

Euphorbia peplus and Euphorbia heterophylla, in order Malpighiales.


rubber plant

A tree which can produce latex, a rubber tree, including Hevea brasiliensis.


wax plant

Any plant of the genus Hoya, especially those which are commonly cultivated as houseplants.


jatropha

Any of several plants, of the genus Jatropha, native to the Northern Hemisphere; some have medicinal attributes and others are grown as a source of biodiesel.


turnsole

turnsole (countable and uncountable, plural turnsoles)

Euphorbia helioscopia
Euphorbia helioscopia#Translingual


chala

Croton scouleri, a tree native to the Galapagos.


copperleaf

copperleaf (plural copperleafs or copperleaves)

copperleafs (plural)
copperleaves (plural)

Other similar-looking species of Acalypha


mongongo

A large, spreading tree (Schinziophyton rautanenii) of the family Euphorbiaceae, found on wooded hills and among sand dunes, with distinctive hand-shaped leaves, whose pale yellow wood resembles balsa.


pencil tree

Euphorbia tirucalli, a tree found in semi-arid tropical climates.


naked lady

Colchicum autumnale
Colchicum autumnale#Translingual

Colchicum autumnale, the meadow saffron.

Eupohorbia tirucalli

milk bush, Indian tree spurge, pencil tree, stick on fire


candlenut

In both respects, as I have already pointed out, they differed from the Polynesians who brought with them to their island homes not only their language but their agriculture, from the cradle of their race in the Malay Archipelago; cuttings of seedless breadfruit and of sugarcane, fleshy roots of taro and yams; even trees, like the Indian almond and the candlenut.

1923, Various, Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Fourteenth Annual Meeting:

A flowering tree (Aleurites moluccana and Aleurites rockinghamensis) of the family Euphorbiaceae, also known as candleberry, Indian walnut, kemiri, varnish tree or kukui nut tree.


skunkweed

Any of several American plants that have an offensive odour, but especially Croton texensis and Polemonium viscosum.


kukui

Though I'd often eaten sashimi, poke was then completely new to me—delicious rubies of cubed fish dressed in light sesame oil, garnished with minced bits of reddish-brown seaweed and the ground centers of kukui nuts (see recipe, next page).

2004 October 17, Garrett Hongo, “Poke”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

“We get so wrapped up in the lei thing,” Ms. Shibata said, noting that instead of that perishable adornment, children will create bracelets of nuts from the kukui, the Hawaiian state tree.

2007 May 18, The New York Times, “Spare Times: For Children”, in New York Times:

Passing through a grove of kukui trees, with their silver-gray leaves, and then through a valley, they would have reached sugarcane fields, their stalks as tall as a man and densely clumped together.

2012, Julia Flynn Siler, Lost Kingdom, Grove Press, page 43:

(Hawaii) Aleurites moluccana, the candlenut tree.


Pará rubber tree

Pará rubber tree (plural Pará rubber trees)


wartwort

wartwort (countable and uncountable, plural wartworts)

/ˈwɔːtˌwɜːt/

From Middle English wartwort, wertewert, wrotwort, equivalent to wart + wort.

Any of various plants, including Norther European species of spurge (Euphorbia) and the nipplewort (Lapsana communis), formerly believed to cure warts.


curcas

Jatropha curcas
Jatropha curcas#Translingual

A spurge, Jatropha curcas, from Central America


jewbush

The low-growing tropical American shrub Euphorbia tithymaloides (formerly Pedilanthus tithymaloides).


malambo

malambo (countable and uncountable, plural malambos)

A yellowish aromatic bark, used in medicine and perfumery, said to be from the South American shrub Croton malambo.


kemiri

Borrowed from Indonesian kemiri, from Malay kemiri.

candlenut, Aleurites moluccanus or Aleurites moluccana


spurgewort

1846-1853, John Lindley, The Vegetable Kingdom
There seems to be nothing in Putranjiva to distinguish it from a drupaceous Spurgewort. In general the structure of Spurgeworts is very uniform, and upon the whole there are few extensive Orders in which it is less liable to exceptions.


tithymal

Any kind of spurge, especially Euphorbia cyparissias.


cascarilla

cascarilla (countable and uncountable, plural cascarillas)

A euphorbiaceous West Indian shrub (Croton eleuteria).


kameela

Red dusty hairs of the capsules of a tropical Asian tree (Mallotus philippensis), used for dyeing silk and in the treatment of tapeworm.


tread-softly

Carolina horsenettle
Carolina horsenettle

Solanum carolinense, the Carolina horsenettle.


aburagiri

/ˌɑ.bə.ɹəˈɡɪ.ɹi/

Borrowed from Japanese 油桐 (アブラギリ, aburagiri), from 油 (あぶら, abura, “oil”) + 桐 (キリ, kiri, “paulownia”).

A large Asian tree, Aleurites moluccana, that produces candlenuts.


macaranga

Any of the large genus Macaranga of Old World tropical euphorbiaceous trees.


tallow tree

Various African trees in the genus Allanblackia.


physic nut

A small tropical American euphorbiaceous tree (Jatropha curcas) with poisonous seeds, cultivated to produce biodiesel fuel.


acalypha

Stumping my way through a welter of staghorns and acalyphas I made the steps, made the hill.

1979, Thea Astley, Hunting the Wild Pineapple, Nelson, page 17:

Any plant of the genus Acalypha of flowering plants, found in tropical and subtropical environments.


monoao

Halocarpus kirkii, a native tree of New Zealand resembling a kauri.

Manoao colensoi, a native conifer of New Zealand.


Ceylon lac

A resinous exudation of the tree Macaranga tanarius (syn. Croton laccifer), resembling lac.


dog's mercury

Mercurialis perennis
Mercurialis perennis#Translingual

Mercurialis perennis, a herbaceous, downy perennial woodland plant with erect stems bearing simple, serrate leaves, found in much of Europe.


goatweed

goatweed (countable and uncountable, plural goatweeds)


chenille plant

Acalypha hispida, a shrub with colourful furry flowers


crown of thorns

crown of thorns (plural crowns of thorns)

/ˌkɹaʊn əv ˈθɔːnz/

Calque of Latin spinea corona, itself a calque of Hellenistic Ancient Greek ἀκάνθινος στέφανος (akánthinos stéphanos).

der

ἀκάνθινος στέφανος

(Christianity) The crown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear before his Crucifixion, in mocking reference to his alleged status as ‘king of the Jews’, or a representation of this.


silverbush

Any of several bushes with a silvery appearance.

Argythamnia spp., found from Texas to Colombia

Convolvulus cneorum, of the Mediterranean

Sophora tomentosa subsp. australis, of Australia


sandbox tree

Hura crepitans, an evergreen tree of the spurge family Euphorbiaceae, native to tropical regions of North and South America.


possumwood

Any of tree of a few species or the wood of such trees:

Hura crepitans (sandbox tree), native to the tropical Americas;


swallow-wort

en-noun

swallow-wort (countable and uncountable, plural swallow-worts)

A plant of any of several species of plants whose parts resemble a swallow's tail:

Pattalias palustris (syn. Seutera angustifolia, Gulf Coast swallow wort).

Gulf Coast swallow wort

Pattalias palustris. syn. Seutera angustifolia


rushfoil

Any of various plants of the genus Croton.


wolf's milk

Any of several species of plants that produces latex in its sap

All plants of genus Euphorbia, most commonly

Euphorbia esula
Euphorbia esula#Translingual


mole bean

The oil of this bean can be used to repel moles from lawns.


hogwort

Hogwort is an erect, stout, sparingly branched annual that grows up to 4 feet tall.

1972, Robert August Evers, Roger P. Link, Leo Roy Tehon, Poisonous Plants of the Midwest & their Effects on Livestock, page 139:

Beach hogwort and beach primrose probably also contribute to the diet of these birds.

1974, Albert Sydney Johnson, An Ecological Survey of the Coastal Region of Georgia, page 40:

It is Persian hogwort, and it is used as a spice in Iran.

2011, Sally Butcher, Veggiestan: A Vegetable Lover's Tour of the Middle East, unnumbered page:

Woolly croton (Croton capitatus, syn. Heptallon graveolens), an annual plant of the southeastern US.


castor oil plant

castor oil plant (plural castor oil plants)

A plant of the species Ricinus communis, used in the production of castor oil and of the poison ricin.


caper spurge

Named for the resemblance of its toxic fruits to those of the edible caperberry (Capparis spinosa).

The common name, Caper Spurge, alludes to the resemblance of the spongy capsules to capers, which are young flower buds from quite a different plant, Capparis. Caper Spurge fruits were mistakenly pickled by several women and when ingested caused severe illness.

1986 January 1, Thomas C. Fuller, Elizabeth May McClintock, Poisonous Plants of California, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page 136:

"Sounds delightful," Ada said. She looked uneasy. "Have you ever heard of caper spurge poisoning?"
"Yes, when we go to Mt. Etna, Tazio tells me not to pick the capers with the purple flowers. What do you know about caper spurge?"

2015 September, Roger Corea, chapter 4, in The Duesenberg Caper, SelectBooks, Inc., →ISBN:

Euphorbia lathyris
Euphorbia lathyris#Translingual

An erect, biennial spurge native to southern Europe, northern Africa, and southwest Asia into central Asia, of species Euphorbia lathyris.


snow-on-the-mountain

A small shrub in the family Euphorbiaceae, having white-margined leaves and white flowers; Euphorbia marginata.


noseburn

Any of the genus Tragia of flowering plants in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae.


toothleaf

Any of the genus Stillingia of plants in the family Euphorbiaceae.


manchineel tree

manchineel tree (plural manchineel trees)

A tropical American tree, Hippomane mancinella, having apple-like, highly poisonous fruit, and a sap that causes blisters on contact with the skin.


annual mercury

Mercurialis annua, a spurge native to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East and invasive elsewhere.


crotonoid

Any plant that is a member of the subfamily Crotonoideae


palma Christi

From Latin palma Christi, “palm of Christ.”

[…] but if you finde that their encrease and continuance multiply with your labour, it shall be then good for you to plant in diuers places of your Garden the hearbe called Palma Christi, in other places Garlicke and in other places Onyons, and it is an assured rule that no Moale will come néere where they grow for the strength and violence of their smell, is poysonous and deadly to those blinde vermines.

1614, Gervase Markham, chapter 7, in The Second Booke of the English Husbandman, London: John Browne, pages 45–46:

Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander went ashore upon the island, which they found not to be more than five hundred yards long, and one hundred broad; yet there was a house upon it, and a small plantation, where among other things was the Palma Christi, from which the castor oil is made in the West Indies […]

1773, John Hawkesworth, chapter 12, in An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty: for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, volume 3, London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, page 709:

They have never been known to fight, and, indeed, have a tradition that their forefathers, in their first essays at war, made their bows of the Palma-Christi; and, when these broke, they gave up fighting altogether.

1857, David Livingstone, chapter 3, in Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, London: John Murray, page 64:

The cooling palma christi leaves that Janie had bound about her grandma’s head with a white rag had wilted down and become part and parcel of the woman.

1937, Zora Neale Hurston, chapter 2, in Their Eyes Were Watching God, University of Illinois Press, published 1978, page 26:


candelilla

The ranch-owners were much surprised when they were informed that the candelilla plant, known to science as Euphorbia cerifera, instead of being useless, was of considerable value, because experiments had proved that it contained crude wax, for which there is much demand.

1918, Ralph H. Butz, “Wealth From Weeds - A New Industry In The Southwest”, in Munsey's Magazine, volume LXII, page 241:

Have you ever chewed candelilla gum? Or traveled on a guayule tire? No, candelilla and guayule are not brand names for new products. They are plants that grow in the Chihuahuan Desert.

2013 September 15, Delena Tull, “Rubber, Wax, Oil, and Soap”, in Edible and Useful Plants of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 74:

A type of flowering succulent plant, native to Texas and northern Mexico, of species Euphorbia antisyphilitica.


milktree

Any of the latex-producing flowering plants in the genus Sapium.


leafy spurge

Euphorbia esula, a spurge native to Eurasia.


sun spurge

The flowering plant Euphorbia helioscopia.


tyle-berry

(archaic) The coral plant, Jatropha multifida.


coral plant

Balanophora coralliformis in the family Balanophoraceae

Berberidopsis corallina in the family Berberidopsidaceae

Jatropha multifida in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae

Russelia equisetiformis in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae


rattlesnake weed

Any of several plants used in folk medicine to treat snakebites.


gopher spurge

From its reputation as a gopher repellant.


desert candle

Abyssinian spurge (Euphorbia abyssinica)


naboom

Synonym of candelabra tree (“Euphorbia ingens”)


candelabra tree

candelabra tree (plural candelabra trees)

The other trees which the Central African forests produce are the kolquall, or candelabra tree; the msundurusi, or copal-tree, frequent in Ukawendi; the moumbo, or palmyra; the miombo; the beautiful and fragrant mimosa; the mtundu; and on the shores of Lake Tanganika is seen the beautiful Guinea palm tree, called mchikichi, and the plantain tree.

1872, Henry Morton Stanley, How I found Livingstone, page 524:

NABOOM EUPHORBIA ( CANDELABRA TREE ) Euphorbia ingens

2005, Rina Grant, Val Thomas, Sappi Tree Spotting: Bushveld, Including Pilanesberg and Magaliesberg, page 94:

Possibly the most extraoridanary savanna trees are the baobab (Adansonia digitata) and the candelabra tree (Euphorbia candelabrum).

2009, Michael Allaby, Grasslands, page 19:

The mukonde (candelabra tree) was a four-sided cactus like plant with a poisonous white sap, although a rhino had no problems chewing the fresh shoots.

2019, Dr. Ross Gordon Cooper, Crocodile Creek tree house, page 11:

The candelabra tree has a long stem with branches growing only at the upper part.

2020, Naoimi Kipuri, Oral Literature of the Maasai, page 166:

Several species of Euphorbia, including Euphorbia ingens, Euphorbia candelabrum, Euphorbia ammak, Euphorbia cooperi, Euphorbia lacti, and Euphorbia antiquorum.


milkbush

From milk + bush, from its acrid milky juice.

Any of various plants of the genus Euphorbia.


chickenweed

Any plant of several species
Senecio vulgaris.

Senecio vulgaris
Senecio vulgaris#Translingual


ghostweed

From ghost + weed, from its striking white appearance.


tree spinach

Synonym of chaya (“leafy perennial Mexican shrub used as a leafy vegetable”)


leatherstem

A stalky plant of Mexico and Texas, Jatropha dioica


bellyache bush

bellyache bush (plural bellyache bushes)

A tropical plant of the spurge family, Jatropha gossypiifolia.


gout stalk

Jatropha podagrica, a leafy plant of the spurge family grown as an ornamental.


goutystalk nettlespurge

goutystalk nettlespurge (plural goutystalk nettlespurges)


asthma-plant

A tropical plant of species Euphorbia hirta, used in herbal medicine.


African milk barrel

Named for the white latex released whenever one of the cylindrical stems is pierced or cut.

Also called "African milk barrel," this plant has a beautiful silver skin. The lower part is wooden, rather like a tree trunk.

2020 March 10, Misa Matsuyama, “Euphorbia horrida”, in The Gardener's Guide to Succulents: A Handbook of Over 125 Exquisite Varieties of Succulents and Cacti, Tuttle Publishing, →ISBN:

African milk barrel is a clump-forming stem succulent native to South Africa, with grey-green stems covered in reddish brown thorns. Flowers form in summer at the tip of each stem.

2023 April 11, Paul Rees, The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Cacti and Succulents, Frances Lincoln, →ISBN, page 83:

A type of succulent plant, resembling a small cactus, of species Euphorbia polygona var. horrida, previously known as Euphorbia horrida.


garden croton

garden + croton. While the species Codiaeum variegatum is no longer in the genus Croton, it is still referred to as a croton, similar to the plant pothos (golden pothos, Epipremnum aureum).

A spurge of species Codiaeum variegatum, commonly used as a houseplant for its leaves, which can vary in color.


African milk tree

African milk tree (plural African milk trees)

Named for the white latex released whenever one of the cylindrical stems is pierced or cut. See also African milk barrel.

An example of a species found in western Africa is Euphorbia trigona, commonly known as the African milk tree. The sap of this species was able to cause loss of corneal epithelium 16 h after direct exposure to the sap in a 60-year-old male.

2014 May 30, Victor Kuete, Toxicological Survey of African Medicinal Plants, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 505:

One problem that you may encounter with your African milk tree is that because of their height and small root structure, these plants have a tendency to topple over.

2017 September 14, Maaike Koster, Emma Sibley, “Euphorbia trigona”, in Urban Botanics: An Indoor Plant Guide for Modern Gardeners, Quarto Publishing Group USA, →ISBN:

The African milk tree is a fast-growing, triangular-stemmed succulent from Angola and central Africa. It forms a multi-branched, upright plant, which can grow up to 3m/10ft, but is unlikely to reach this size as a potted plant.

2023 April 11, Paul Rees, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Cacti and Succulents, Frances Lincoln, →ISBN, page 85:

A type of succulent plant cultivated in West Africa, resembling a cactus, of species Euphorbia trigona.


baseball plant

Of the Euphorbia, named for the plant's resemblance in size and shape to a baseball.

Baseball plant can feel top-heavy when unpotting, as if the top could separate from the delicate roots.

2011 April 3, Amy Bryant Aiello, Kate Bryant, “Terrestrial Orb”, in Terrarium Craft: Create 50 Magical Miniature Worlds, Timber Press, →ISBN, page 140:

The Baseball Plant is a unique member of the Euphorbia genus native to parts of South Africa. Typically sold as a singular small, round plant, it eventually stretches out and grows tall.

2021 March 9, Rebecca De La Paz, Houseplants for Beginners: A Practical Guide to Choosing, Growing, and Helping Your Plants Thrive, Sourcebooks, Inc., →ISBN:

A type of succulent plant native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa, resembling a small round cactus, of species Euphorbia obesa.


paper spurge

The milky sap (latex) is highly irritating , and can produce serious inflammation of the eyes and skin.

2015 November 12, J.T. Sibley, “Caper spurge, paper spurge, gopher spurge, mole plant, petroleum plant (Hagevortemelk) [Garden wart milk] Euphorbia lathyris.”, in The Way of the Wise: Traditional Norwegian Folk and Magic Medicine, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN:

The oil from the seeds of paper spurge Euphorbia lathyris is now being considered as a raw material for biodiesel.

2022 January 1, Samuel Paul Raj, Pravin Raj Solomon, Baskar Thangaraj, chapter 18.3, in Biodiesel from Flowering Plants, Springer Nature, →ISBN, page 215:


cathedral cactus

cathedral cactus (plural cathedral cactuses or cathedral cacti)

cathedral cactuses (plural)
cathedral cacti (plural)

Desi's favorite indoor cacti include the white ghost cactus (a pale gray-green candelabra shape with pink flowers) and the African milk tree (also called a cathedral cactus, with small green leaves growing among thorns on tall, straight arms).

2021 April 13, Emily L. Hay Hinsdale, Never Put a Cactus in the Bathroom: A Room-by-Room Guide to Styling and Caring for Your Houseplants, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 80:


cliff spurge

Named for its habitat on the coastal cliffs of California and western Mexico.

The expansion of the Point Loma treatment plant would have long-term significant impacts to 10.2 acres of maritime succulent scrub, including losses of individuals to populations of San Diego barrel cactus, snake cholla, and cliff spurge on Point Loma.

1991, Clean Water Program for Greater San Diego, Secondary Treatment System, Associated Sludge Management Facilities, Joint EIR/EIS D(2v); Technical Appendix, Secondary Treatment System: Environmental Impact Statement, page 12:

Our trail came out to a cliff top, and we sat and ate lunch while watching the elephant seals on the beach below. Tiny yellow rock daises took hold in the slip scree, along with some of the frankenia and cliff spurge, and in the rock pools below an American oystercatcher picked its way between boulders, both granite and living.

1995, Michelle A. Gilders, Reflections of a Whale-watcher, Indiana University Press, →ISBN, page 77:

Along the ocean near San Diego he collected Cliff Spurge, today listed as rare in the area, and in the dry plains around San Diego now covered by suburbia, he found large tracts of tarweed […]

2006 March 2, Richard G. Beidleman, California's Frontier Naturalists, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page 211:

A type of drought-deciduous shrub native to Baja California, of species Euphorbia misera.


coast spurge

A type of shrub native to Baja California, of species Euphorbia misera.


red spurge

Red spurge is a hardy tree grown for its ruby-colored leaves. Sap from this plant can cause a severe rash.

2000 May 1, Susan Scott, Craig Thomas, Poisonous Plants of Paradise: First Aid and Medical Treatment of Injuries from Hawaii's Plants, University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, page 134:

Carrying inconspicuous flowers but very showy reddish foliage, this evergreen tree is native from Mexico to northern South America.

2009 July 23, Fred D. Rauch, Paul R. Weissich, “Euphorbia cotinifolia Red Spurge”, in Small Trees for the Tropical Landscape, University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, page 50:

Various cultivars of purple-leaved Heuchera (coral bells), crimson-leaved annuals such as Solonostemon 'Red Carpet' (coleus), Alternanthera dentata 'Rubiginosa' (alternanthera), and the splendid shrublike annual Euphorbia cotinifolia (red spurge)—these dark reds help carry the eye around a planting bed or along the front of a border.

2009 August 25, Lynden B Miller, Parks Plants and People: Beautifying The Urban Landscape, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 100:

A type of shrubby tree of species Euphorbia cotinifolia, native to Central and South America and cultivated in other tropical climates.


cushion spurge

cushion spurge (countable and uncountable, plural cushion spurges)

Nice spurges include Euphorbia polychrma (cushion spurge), E. amygdaloides (purple wood spurge), and several other minor species, all of which are lovely, pest-resistant perennials.

1996 January 1, Barbara Pleasant, The Gardener's Weed Book: Earth-safe Controls, Storey Publishing, →ISBN, page 138:

Euphorbias can be left alone for decades, but you can dig and divide cushion spurge as often as every 3 years to propagate it.

2002, Reader's Digest Association, Care Free Plants: A Guide to Growing the 200 Hardiest, Low-maintenance, Long-living Beauties, Readers Digest, →ISBN, page 148:

Cushion spurge is in full bloom when most other species are just starting to emerge from winter dormancy.

2008 January 1, Anthony W. Kahtz, Perennials for Midwestern Gardens: Proven Plants for the Heartland, Timber Press, →ISBN, page 77:

A perennial spurge forming small clumps of bright yellow flowers, native to Central and Southeast Europe, of species Euphorbia epithymoides (previously known as Euphorbia polychroma).


cypress spurge

The "American ipecac" (E. ipecacuanha), sometimes used as a substitute for the true Brazilian article, is an eye irritant. The milk of the flowering spurge and the cypress spurge have caused some damage along this line ;[…]

1919, “Diseases of the Eye”, in Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat, volume 1919, page 103:

Contact with the sap of leafy spurge and cypress spurge may result in skin blisters and inflamation^([sic]), and with animals the hair may fall.

1930 April, W. C. Muenscher, “Leafy Spurge and Related Weeds”, in Cornell Extension Bulletin, volume 192, page 10:

These growers had been harvesting cypress spurge infested hay and selling it for animal food or as construction hay, perhaps assisting the spread of cypress spurge to new areas.

2002, “Cypress Spurge”, in Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the Eastern United States, page 205:

An erect, perennial spurge, native to Europe and an invasive species in North America, of species Euphorbia cyparissias.


devil's backbone

Among the ornamentals that are commonly seen in but not native to Indonesia are a pink-flowered Dombeya, some Bauhinias or orchid trees, […] and trumpet vine. To this list may also be added yellow Allamanda, some kinds of Hibiscus, an Aloe, crown of thorns, shrimp plant, "Singapore holly" (neither a holly nor from Singapore), devil's backbone or slipperflower, Plumbago, Cape-honey-suckle, […]

1973, Wilfred T. Neill, Twentieth-century Indonesia, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 74:

Some say the flowers of devil's backbone look like cardinals perched around a feeder, each flower a long-tailed red teardrop that gives rise to another common name, red bird cactus.

2012 August 15, Nellie Neal, “Devil's Backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)”, in Gardener's Guide to Tropical Plants: Cool Ways to Add Hot Colors, Bold Foliage, and Striking Textures, Cool Springs Press, →ISBN, page 105:

For years the matriarchs of the family grew a plant they called "devil's back," short for "devil's backbone." It's considered a subtropical succulent with variegated leaves.

2017 April 4, Betsy Singleton Snyder, Stepping on Cheerios: Finding God in the Chaos and Clutter of Life, Abingdon Press, →ISBN:

A perennial succulent spurge, native to tropical and subtropical North and Central America, of species Euphorbia tithymaloides (formerly known as Pedilanthus tithymaloides).


redbird cactus

Named for the appearance of its flower clusters, resembling small birds gathered around a birdfeeder.

Jungle clung to the canyons, but there were broad expanses of brushland grown with mesquite and agave and flowering redbird cactus.

1998, Robert Stone, Bear and His Daughter: Stories, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 61:

devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)


broom spurge

This Guinea Flower is frequently quick to reappear, as are also the Trochymene and the Broom spurge (Amperea spartioides), seen at other places near.

1938, Thomas Stephen Hart, “Excursion to Springvale”, in The Victorian Naturalist, volume LIV, page 138:

A grass-like erect spurge, native to Australia, of species Amperea xiphoclada (formerly known as Amperea spartioides).


wood spurge

Named for its natural habitat, the undergrowth of woods and forests.

The English wood Spurge, hath diverse tough woody brownish red branches, two foote high or more, bare or naked of leaves, for a space next to the roote, and afterwards set up to the toppes, with many narrow and long leaves, yet broader than those of the Sea Spurge, and nothing so large as the next, somewhat smooth in handling, and without any dentes about the edges, turning reddish in the spring, and more in the sommer time: […]

1640, John Parkinson, Theatrum Botanicum: The Theater of Plants : Or, An Herball of Large Extent: Containing Therein a More Ample and Exact History and Declaration of the Physicall Herbs and Plants ... Distributed Into Sundry Classes Or Tribes, for the More Easie Knowledge of the Many Herbes of One Nature and Property ..., page 186:

The Wood Spurge, seen so frequently during our country rambles, suggests by its spreading aspect a clever juggler balancing on his upturned chin a widely-branched series of delicate green saucers on fragile stems, which ramify below from a single rod.

1897, William Thomas Fernie, Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure, page 532:

We filmed our wild wood spurge, Euphorbia amygdaloides, on a big grassy verge alongside the road by the River Mole.

2013 February 28, Carol Klein, Wild Flowers: Nature's own to garden grown, Random House, →ISBN, page 40:

An erect, perennial spurge, native to Europe and the Caucasus, of species Euphorbia amygdaloides.


spotted spurge

Spotted spurge can grow well in slightly dry, gravelly, or sandy soils. It doesn't grow in shade; therefore, the dense canopy of an intensively planted garden bed helps inhibit growth of any spotted spurge that germinates later in the season.

2001 January 1, Jill Jesiolowski Cebenko, Deborah L. Martin, “Spotted Spurge (Euphorbia maculata)”, in Insect, Disease & Weed I.D. Guide: Find-it-fast Organic Solutions for Your Garden, Rodale, →ISBN, page 227:

A prostrate, annual spurge, native to North America and an invasive species throughout the rest of the world, of species Euphorbia maculata.

One always thinks of the plant as a companion of the pursley, but pursley can be eaten by man, and hogs thrive on it. Nothing eats spotted spurge. The spurges are all poisonous to a greater or less degree, and this one is fit only to hoe into the ground where it soon mixes forever with the elements, and where the cultivated plants soon send their roots abroad to pierce its mould.

2013 July 24, Edwin R. Spencer, All About Weeds, Courier Corporation, →ISBN, page 149:

An erect, annual spurge, native to North and Central America and an invasive species in Europe, Japan, and New Zealand, of species Euphorbia nutans.