Euphorbias: Don't Get Euphoric over the Acidic

Euphorbia genus succulents are very popular these days, with the simple, orange variety known colloquially as "sticks of fire" being used in drought-friendly landscaping for shopping centers and restaurants. The plants grow quite easily, and are beautiful in their orange variety, though they also have a green variety that looks exactly the same except for the color. The plants grow extremely easily and thrive in drought conditions (or when "stressed" by denying them regular water).

Sticks of Fire, not "stressed" enough for full orange color.

Another form of euphorbia you might have seen is known as "crown of thorns" in what one can only assume is a reference to Jesus Christ (yes, it is, no assumption necessary). This plant is known for its incredibly thorny stems and the tiny flowers that bloom at the ends in a variety of colors.

I have one of these, bought by my brother, and for safety's sake I planted it in an area where it's unlikely to be stepped on or accidentally brushed by the hand. It's even hard to photograph my plant because I have surrounded it with "safety" succulents that are safe to touch. The thorns are vicious, but the real viciousness of all euphorbia plants is what's inside of them.

Best picture I could get of my Crown of Thorns.

The sap bleeds out wherever the plant is broken.

Euphorbia plants contain a milky sap that might remind you of the liquid inside milkweed. Unlike milkweed, the euphorbia sap is extremely painful to come into contact with, not just causing itching, but actually able to burn the skin.

Most succulent plants break easily, and the green and orange thorn-less varieties of euphorbia are no exception. A slight bit of pressure can cause a split in the skin where the sap will well up just like a cut in animal skin. The branches snap extremely easily, and gloves with protective gauntlets should be worn whenever working with this plant.

If the sap touches skin, the effect isn't immediate. The sap flows rather copiously, and is sticky. It will dry on skin sort of like white glue does. Unlike that lovely school glue, this stuff will burn where it touches.

I suffered for your benefit, but only a little bit.

I dabbed a tiny bit on my hand so I could add a little demonstration for this blog entry. I received some pretty bad burns a few weeks ago when staking the green euphorbia to a piece of rebar, but they've healed since then, so I gave myself a little injury for your benefit.

The sap I put on my skin was from a previously-broken stem that was drying out, so there was less sap than would appear if the plant was freshly broken. After about a minute, I washed the skin, and then scratched it with my fingernail. That's where those shreds of skin came from. The sap will burn through layers of skin, and you will notice because it is nearly impossible NOT to scratch at the itchy and painful areas it touches.

I only had the old sap on my skin for a minute, and it only stripped a bit of skin and left a bit of redness. I've had burns that have stripped more than just one layer of cells, and the skin itself is red and once healed is an obviously lighter shade than the uninjured skin surrounding it. Now, about forty five minutes later, the area on my hand still itches and burns.

Where I staked the plant and managed to burn myself even with gauntlet gloves.

Why this blog entry? With the proliferation of this plant in public places, I get increasingly worried about children and pets (and even adults) injuring themselves by "playing" with this plant. No matter how interesting those carroty-colored stems look, DO NOT TOUCH! It is very easy to get sap on you, rub it off (which really doesn't work, you need to use soap and water), and later find your skin shedding a bit like a heavy sunburn.

If you DO come in contact with the sap of this plant, DO wash thoroughly with soap and water as soon as possible. Even spitting on the area and rubbing it off immediately is better than nothing (if you or a child is injured away from sanitation facilities). As in my demonstration photo, skin will still be injured, and it will be irritated, but the effects will be much less severe than letting the sap stay on the skin.

If you desire to grow any of these plants yourself, be smart about it. My neighbors have several VERY LARGE crown of thorns euphorbias in front of their house, and I keep myself and my dogs away. The thorns themselves are scary enough. As for the thorn-less varieties, do not plant them in areas that are accessible to children and pets. It's just asking for trouble. My euphorbia plants are in an area of the bed that is near the back and not touch-accessible to people looking at the patch of succulents. Don't want the neighbor's kids catching their balls in my yard and falling on these plants!

Edited 4/3/16 to add:

Euphorbia sap burns

Two days ago I did some heavy work on the euphorbias, re-tying them and cutting off excess stems. I did not wear long sleeves, and my gauntlet gloves end just before the elbow. These three burns are from sap that stayed put on my skin for the duration of the gardening work; about twenty minutes max. You can see the middle one is my inner elbow, and the largest is on my upper arm. I also burned my face a bit, and my legs because I was silly enough to be wearing shorts. BE CAREFUL!!! Don't be like me!