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Species library › Euphorbia › Euphorbia trigona
Succulents Well documented

Euphorbia trigona

African milk tree

A branching, cactus-like Euphorbia with three- or four-angled dark green stems marked with pale V-shaped patterns, paired 5 mm spines on the ridges and small drop-shaped leaves. It is attributed to Central or West Africa, but it has never been known to flower and is known only from cultivation, where it is a common houseplant and hedge plant; it may be a hybrid. Treat it as a bright-light, warm, drought-tolerant succulent.

Euphorbia trigona
Photo: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

No wild population is known. It is grown widely as a hedge and ritual plant in tropical Africa (for example in Gabon) and elsewhere, usually in open sun on well-drained ground.

No wild elevation data. Cultivated plants thrive from sea level to mid elevations in the tropics.

West-Central Tropical Africa

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.