Species · genus Euphorbia · Euphorbiaceae

Firestick Pencil Cactus

Euphorbia tirucalli L.

Also known as: Indiantree Spurge · African Milkbush · Fingertree · Indian Tree Spurge · Milkhedge · Naked-lady

Growth habit

semisucculent shrub or tree

Native range

Madagascar

Reference · E. tirucalli

Cultivars of E. tirucalli

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

No named cultivars catalogued under E. tirucalli 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.

Euphorbia tirucalli is a semisucculent shrub or tree from Madagascar, storing water in its pencil-thick green stems and rotting if kept wet. Give it bright, direct light and a fast-draining gritty mix, and water only when the mix has dried completely through to the bottom. It tolerates dry air and neglect far better than excess moisture.

Care recipe

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

Care notes are early — not yet verified

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

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

13–30 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus mix

Propagation

Stem cuttings, callused before potting

Fertilizing

Dilute feed once or twice in summer

Growth rate

Fast

Flowering

Rarely flowers 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: admin:curated · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Firestick Pencil Cactus 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.