Species · genus Euphorbia · Euphorbiaceae

Little Bird Flower

Euphorbia bracteata Jacq.

Also known as: Slipper Plant · Slipper Flower · Tabasco Slipper Plant

Growth habit

semisucculent shrub

Native range

Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest

Reference · E. bracteata

Cultivars of E. bracteata

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

No named cultivars catalogued under E. bracteata 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 shrub native to the arid and seasonally dry regions of Mexico, this Euphorbia stores water in its stems and rots if kept wet. Grow it in gritty, fast-draining mix and let the soil dry out well between waterings — water only when the top two inches are fully dry. It tolerates bright indirect light and can take some direct sun once acclimated.

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 10-21d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 21 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

13–29 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus and succulent mix

Propagation

Stem cuttings, dried to callus before rooting

Fertilizing

Dilute balanced feed monthly through spring and summer

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Small bright bracts appear in warm bright spots

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Euphorbiaceae produce an irritant milky latex that can harm 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 10-21d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Little Bird Flower 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.