Pixel Wild
Devil's Backbone
Devil's Backbone
Euphorbia tithymaloides
Plantae
UNCOMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Perennial
Size
Medium
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Tropical dry forest
Range
Central and South America
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Toxins
Status
Uncommon

About

This succulent shrub grows in zig-zag patterns across tropical forest floors. Its stems snap to release a sticky white latex that irritates the skin of any herbivore.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Malpighiales
Family
Euphorbiaceae
Genus
Euphorbia
Species
Euphorbia tithymaloides