Euphorbia lathyris: A plant with great uses for health

Euphorbia lathyris, dangerous and toxic plant

The Euphorbia Lathyris.also known as Tártago, gorse grass, catapucia, camphor, fig tree of hell, etc., it is a plant that has seeds from which an oil is usually extractedwhich is possible to use within multiple applications in the industrial sector.

Supposedly from Africa or India, This plant has Brazil, India and China as the main producersbut today it is practically naturalized globally.

Habitat and characteristics of the Tártago

orange flower between some leaves

This plant dwells around the edge of the roadscoastal sand, in cultivated fields and also in disturbed land, at an altitude of around 50-850mts. It is characterized by being a resistant plant whose main characteristics is to keep moles away, which it achieves because it has toxic roots.

It generally thrives in forest habitats, such as those already mentioned, and avoids acidic soils entirely. It is a flower, both annual and biennialwhich has the capacity to reach a height of up to 1,5 meters and usually blooms between the months of May and June.

It has herbaceous stems, which can be little branched or simple. It is possible to collect its seeds in both July and August, and it stands out for being a plant that has not only male flowers, but also female flowers, so they are very easy to pollinate.

Likewise, it can be said that the Euphorbia Lathyris. It consists of a herbaceous plant whose stem is capable of reaching about 2cm in diameter; it only branches when the plant will flowerand it does so in a forked way, growing to about 1m tall.

Its leaves do not have a petiole, have a smooth texture and is a dark blue-green hue; They are usually really long and narrow, reaching an approximate length of 15cm.

Towards the crown its leaves become a little shorter and acquire a triangular shape. The central rib, which has a slightly paler tone, stands out for being quite peculiar.

For its part, has small flowers that can be green or of a green-yellowish tone, and they do not have petals. When they reach maturity, their fruits acquire a grayish and / or brown tone, have a depressed globular shape and are separated into 3 parts which, inside, have multiple black seeds.

The Euphorbia Lathyris. tends to develop better when grown in soils that have a neutral, acidic or alkaline pH.

It is also convenient to mention that its underground radical part develops with greater vigor when having substrates that have a clay or sandy texture, due to the fact that they have the characteristic of being able to remain humid or dry.

Also, spurge usually uses diptera in order to pollinate its flowers. And it is usually a highly cultivated plant around the world due to the various applications that its oil can have within the industrial sector.

How to water it?

It is necessary to adjust the frequency of watering the Euphorbia Lathyris. so that the soil maintains a continuous level of humidity, taking into account its texture, environmental humidity, the level of sun exposure and temperatureetc. It is important to note that the spurge does not usually withstand flooding, which is why the planting area must be adequately drained.

Thanks to its high level of rusticity and its enormous resistance to droughtthis plant has the ability to adapt without problem to various types of environments. In relation to the lighting needs of the spurge, we can say that it is moderately demanding, so it is possible to place it both in semi-shaded spaces and in places directly exposed to the sun.

How to carry out its reproduction and pruning?

The most used method, in addition to being the one that seems to provide the best results when reproducing the Euphorbia Lathyris. consists of doing it through its seedsjust when the last frost ends.

It should also be noted that to carry out its propagation by means of seeds, it is necessary that they be soaked before sowing, so that their shell softens. As for its pruning, it should only be maintenance and it can be carried out when it is necessary to get rid of both the stems and the withered leaves.

How to pay the Tártago?

One of the biggest advantages when it comes to growing the Euphorbia Lathyris. It consists in that it is a plant that does not need much care in terms of the substrate. Nevertheless, It must be said that before planting it is necessary to carry out a light fertilization using a bit of compost.

Uses of Euphorbia Lathyris.

Apart from its ornamental use, this plant has industrial usesas we have pointed out, and also with medicinal applications, being used as a disinfectant, cathartic, antiseptic, diuretic, purgative, anti-cancer, parasiticide, antitumor and emetic.

When it is grown in orchards and gardens, It is also usually attributed the ability to scare away molessince its roots are toxic to them; this being one of its most widespread applications.

The main product of this plant stands out for being its oil, popularly known as castor oil. It is characterized by being a raw material of great importance within the chemical industry, used in the manufacture of various productssuch as paints, plastics, varnishes, lubricants and / or cosmetics, etc.

poisonous flowering plant

In fact, the list of products created from the oil obtained from it turns out to be quite extensive; Apart from that, has more than 100 applications in the industrial sectoramong which is the manufacture of soaps, brakes and hydraulic fluids.

In the past, the oil that was extracted from the seeds of this plant used to be used to keep the lamps lit. Similarly, It is worth mentioning that its seeds are characterized by being vomiting, laxative and for helping to combat not only rheumatism, but also persistent diarrhea, but it must be taken into account that its use can be dangerous.

As well It is usually used for the purpose of dealing with the presence of rodents and other kinds of animals, since their ingestion is extremely poisonous; in these cases it is necessary to collect its fruits and obtain its seeds, although for this the spurge must be cut in the middle of the hot season, being especially careful, since it has a latex that irritates both the eyes and the skin.

The sap of this plant is distinguished by being milky and toxicTherefore, when it comes into contact with the eyes or the skin, it may cause severe irritation, and in some cases, also temporarily blindness. This is because its sap has a latex that, in addition to being quite irritating externally, is also very toxic when ingested.

For this reason, spurge is usually responsible for generating not only photosensitive surface reactions, but also severe inflammationespecially when it comes into contact with both the eyes and possible injuries.

Euphorbia lathyris: A plant with great uses for health

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