Species · genus Euphorbia · Euphorbiaceae

Candelilla

Euphorbia antisyphilitica Zucc.

Growth habit

semisucculent subshrub or shrub

Native range

Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, New Mexico, Texas

Reference · E. antisyphilitica

Cultivars of E. antisyphilitica

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under E. antisyphilitica yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

A semisucculent subshrub from the arid scrublands of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, this Euphorbia stores water in its stems and wants gritty, fast-draining mix. Give it the brightest, sunniest spot you have and water deeply but infrequently, only once the soil has dried out completely through the pot. It tolerates dry air well and rots if left sitting in moisture.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

13–32 °C

Soil mix

Very free-draining, sandy cactus mix

Propagation

Callused stem cuttings

Fertilizing

Dilute cactus feed monthly in the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Small blooms, rare indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Euphorbiaceae produce a caustic milky latex that irritates skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Candelilla yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.