Species · genus Euphorbia · Euphorbiaceae

Cactus Spurge

Euphorbia ingens E.Mey. ex Boiss.

Also known as: Candelabra-tree · Naboom · Cactus Euphorbia · Common Naboom · Giant Candelabra-Tree

Growth habit

succulent tree

Native range

Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Caprivi Strip, DR Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi, Mozambique, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Reference · E. ingens

Cultivars of E. ingens

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

No named cultivars catalogued under E. ingens 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 succulent tree from the hot, semi-arid regions of southern and eastern Africa, with a columnar candelabra habit that stores water in its stems. Give it the brightest, sunniest spot you can and a gritty, fast-draining mix. Water deeply only when the soil has dried out completely, roughly every two to four weeks, since stored water means it rots far more easily than it thirsts.

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 14-30d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 30 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

13–29 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus and succulent mix

Propagation

Stem cuttings, callused for several days before potting

Fertilizing

Dilute succulent feed once or twice in spring and summer

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Rarely flowers indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Euphorbiaceae produce a caustic, irritant milky latex that can burn 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.

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Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Cactus Spurge 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.