Common Name:

General Information

Euphorbia granulata is a prostrate, annual plant with branches up to 15 cm long; whole plant short-hairy or sparsely hairy[].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Known Hazards

Although we have seen no specific information for this plant, the latex in most, if not all Euphorbias is caustic and toxic - skin contact often causing irritation and blistering; contact with the eyes causing temporary or even permanent blindness; whilst ingestion can cause purging or more severe problems[].

Botanical References

Range

Africa - drier areas from Western Sahara and Morocco to Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania; through Arabian Peninsula and central Asia to Pakistan and India.

Habitat

Exposed sandy, gritty to stony soils, often on lava, at elevations from sea-level up to 1,000 metres[]. It is also found as a weed in agricultural land[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.05 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant is found as a weed in agricultural land[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The latex is used internally to expel intestinal worms, and externally to treat snakebites and scorpion stings[]. In Saudi Arabia the latex is taken as a purgative, anthelmintic and diuretic, as well as for its blood purifying properties[].

From petroleum and alcoholic extracts of the whole plant the following compounds were isolated: hentriacontane, dotriacontanol, lupeol acetate, taraxasterol acetate, lupeol, taraxasterol, sitosterol and gallic acid[].
A methanol extract of the leaves showed considerable inhibitory effects against HIV-1 protease[].
A water extract of the leaves showed considerable inhibitory effects against hepatitis C virus protease[].

Other Uses

An aqueous extract of the plant significantly and invariably inhibited germination and radicle growth of a range of crop plants and weeds in a laboratory bioassay. Artificially decomposed plant litter in a nutrient medium significantly reduced germination and fresh and dry weight gain of the same test species. The toxins affected germination and growth independently and it is therefore suggested that its litter must be removed from the fields during weeding[].

Propagation

Seed -

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