红雀珊瑚 hong que shan hu

Euphorbia tithymaloides Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 453. 1753.

Erect subshrubs 40-70 cm tall; stems stout, slightly fleshy, strongly flexuous, glabrous or pubescent when young. Leaves distichous; stipules small, with a rounded ca. 1 mm in diam. gland; leaf blade ovate or long ovate, 3.5-8 × 2.5-5 cm, fleshy, both surfaces pubescent, glabrescent, base rounded or obtuse, apex ± acuminate; midrib elevated abaxially, lateral veins 7-9 pairs, ascending steeply and running close to margin for some distance before terminating. Cyathia in cymes clustered on leafless stems, terminal or axillary at upper part, each one with many male flowers and 1 female flower; involucres shoe-shaped, deep-red or purple-red, equilateral, ca. 1 cm, glabrous, apex nearly labiate-shaped, 2-fid, lobes small, oblong, 3-serrulate at apex, other lobe boat-shaped, ca. 1 cm, 2-partite at apex. Male flower: pedicels slender, 2.5-4 mm, glabrous, similar to filaments; anthers globose, slightly shorter than filaments. Female flower inserted at center of involucres, oblique, exserted from involucre; pedicels 6-8 mm, glabrous; ovary fusiform; styles usually connate; stigma 3, 2-fid. Fl. Dec-Jun.

Cultivated. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan [native to Central America, cultivated throughout the tropics].

This species is cultivated as an ornamental, often as a potted plant. All parts are used as medicine for traumatic injury and fractures.