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Useful Tropical Plants

Euphorbia schimperiana

Scheele

Euphorbiaceae

+ Synonyms

Euphorbia ampla Hook.f.

Euphorbia buchananii Pax

Euphorbia dilatata Hochst. ex A.Rich.

Euphorbia hochstetteriana Pax

Euphorbia kilimandscharica Pax ex Engl.

Euphorbia lehmbachii Pax

Euphorbia longicornuta Pax ex Engl.

Euphorbia longipetiolata Pax & K.Hoffm.

Euphorbia monticola Hochst. ex A.Rich.

Euphorbia preussii Pax

Euphorbia schimperiana Hochst. ex A.Rich.

Euphorbia stuhlmannii Pax

Euphorbia variegata Deflers

Euphorbia velutina Pax

Tithymalus dilatatus (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Klotzsch & Garcke

Tithymalus hochstetterianus Klotzsch & Garcke

Tithymalus schimperianus (Scheele) Klotzsch & Garcke

Common Name:

No Image.

General Information

Euphorbia schimperiana is a much-branched, annual to perennial plant growing up to 2 metres tall. The stems become more or less woody at the base.
The plant is 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[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Botanical References


Range

Tropical Africa - drier areas from Guinea Bissau to Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia, south to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mazambique; Arabian Peninsula.

Habitat

Grassland, evergreen bushland and montane forest, at elevations from 1,350 - 3,000 metres[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. Also found as a weed of cultivated ground[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Properties

Weed PotentialYes
Medicinal Rating *  *
HabitAnnual/Perennial
Height1.50 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details



The plant is found as a weed in cultivated ground[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The latex is used as ear drops to treat otitis[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. The latex is applied externally to treat snakebites[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]

The leaf paste in water is taken to treat coughs and colds[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Leaf powder is applied to impetigo and stubborn skin infections[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

A leaf and root decoction is taken as a purgative[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

An infusion of the aerial parts is taken as a purgative, to treat venereal diseases and as an anthelmintic[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

The fruits, crushed together with roots of Cyathula polycephala and then mixed with water, are taken to treat anthrax in cattle[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

The methanol extract of dry stems showed strong molluscicidal activity (LD50 = 5.7 ppm) against Biomphalaria pfeifferi, a vector of schistosomiasis. This activity was associated with terpenoids and phenolics. The effects of the extract on various snail tissues (gut, digestive gland and epidermal layer) were time and concentration dependent, and the results show that the epithelium layer is probably the primary site affected. The toxic and mutagenic activities of the methanol extract of the stems were investigated in mice, and showed slight toxicity to the skin and moderately irritant activity to the ocular tissue. The extract significantly increased the frequency of micronuclei division, especially at high concentrations, indicating that it has mutagenic activity[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Euphorbia+schimperiana>

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