Global InformationEuphorbia candelabrum information
| Euphorbia candelabrum | |
|---|---|
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| Euphorbia candelabrum in the Serengeti | |
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus: | Euphorbia |
| Species: | E. candelabrum
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| Binomial name | |
| Euphorbia candelabrum Kotschy
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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Euphorbia candelabrum is a succulent species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, one of several plants commonly known as candelabra tree.[3] It is endemic to the Horn of Africa and eastern Africa along the East African Rift system. It is known in Ethiopia by its Amharic name, qwolqwal, or its Oromo name, adaamii.[4] It is closely related to three other species of Euphorbia: Euphorbia ingens in the dry regions of southern Africa, Euphorbia conspicua from western Angola, and Euphorbia abyssinica, which is native to countries including Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia.[5]
Its Latin name derives from its growth habit, often considered to resemble the branching of a candelabrum. Candelabra trees can be found in dry deciduous and evergreen open wooded grasslands, on rocky slopes and on rare occasions termite mounds. As rainfall decreases, so does E. candelabrum's habitat range.[6] Trees typically grow to be 12 metres in height; however, some specimens have been recorded to grow up to 20 metres tall.[5]
Species such as Grewia and those in the Euphorbiaceae are considered to be fire-sensitive and typically restricted to termite mounds instead of dominating the open savanna [7] However, E. candelabrum is widespread throughout the savanna and short-grass areas of the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.[8] This is an unusual habitat for tall succulents, as they have been proven to typically be poor invaders of frequently burned stands of land. E. candelabrum's success as a tall succulent seems to be a result of heavy grazing by African mammals such as the Ugandan kob (Kobus kob) and waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus defassa) and an overall decrease in intense wildfires.[8]
Some authorities further divide this species into two varieties, E. candelabrum var. candelabrum and E. candelabrum var. bilocularis.
Euphorbia candelabrum was used in traditional Ethiopian medicine. Mixed with clarified honey, its sap was used as a purgative to cure syphilis and, when mixed with other medicinal plants, as a salve to treat the symptoms of leprosy.[9] The plant currently has negligible commercial value; Richard Pankhurst documents two different attempts near Keren in Eritrea to collect its gum before 1935, but neither attempt proved commercially viable.[10]
Euphorbia candelabrum has been used in firewood, timber, and fencing. Its wood is light and durable, with a number of purposes including roofing, tables, doors, matches, boxes, mortars, musical instruments and saddles.[5]
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- ^ "Euphorbia candelabrum". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ Workineh Kelbessa (2001). "Traditional Oromo Attitudes towards the Environment: An Argument for Environmentally Sound Development" (PDF). Social Science Research Report Series (19): 44. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
- ^ a b c Fern, Ken. "Euphorbia candelabrum". Tropical Plants Database.
- ^ Holland, P. G.; Hove, A. R. T. (1975-03-01). "The distribution of euphorbia candelabrum in the Southern Rift Valley, Kenya". Vegetatio. 30 (1): 49–54. doi:10.1007/BF02387877. ISSN 1573-5052. S2CID 22845229.
- ^ Moe, Stein R.; Mobæk, Ragnhild; Narmo, Anne Kjersti (2009-02-11). "Mound building termites contribute to savanna vegetation heterogeneity". Plant Ecology. 202 (1): 31. doi:10.1007/s11258-009-9575-6. ISSN 1573-5052. S2CID 31033879.
- ^ a b Midgley, Jeremy (2009). "Euphorbia candelabrum juveniles are nursed by spinescent shrubs in short-grass areas of Queen Elizabeth Park, Uganda". African Journal of Ecology. 47 (4): 788–789. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2008.00974.x. ISSN 1365-2028.
- ^ Richard Pankhurst, An Introduction to the Medical History of Ethiopia (Trenton: Red Sea Press, 1990), pp. 76, 91
- ^ Richard Pankhurst, Economic History of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, 1968), p. 206