Euphorbia antiquorum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Euphorbia antiquorum L.

Protologue: Sp. pl. 1: 450 (1753).

Vernacular names

• Malayan spurge tree (En).
• Euphorbe des anciens (Fr)
• Indonesia: sudu-sudu, susudu, susuru
• Malaysia: sesudu, sudu-sudu (Peninsular)
• Cambodia: chan bat day
• Laos: lep nguak
• Thailand: kalam-phak (eastern), khia phaa (northern), salatdai paa (central)
• Vietnam: xương rồng, xương rồng cạnh.

Distribution

Southern India, Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia; locally cultivated within the area of natural occurrence, in Java and possibly also in the Philippines. Also sporadically cultivated as an ornamental or hedge plant in other tropical and subtropical regions, and as an indoor plant in temperate areas.

Uses

The poisonous milky latex or other plant parts (e.g. root bark) are taken as a drastic purgative and induce vomiting. The latex is applied externally to swellings, boils, warts and other skin affections. When mixed with oil, it is a rubefacient embrocation for rheumatism. It may also be used to treat toothache, earache and asthma. The dried heartwood is an antipyretic and used in applications to treat toothache, and is used in Cambodia as a febrifuge and against dysentery. In India, the plant is employed for nervine diseases and dropsy. A saline extract of the stem shows antibiotic activity. Furthermore, the plant is used as a fish poison and shows insecticidal properties. E. antiquorum is often planted for ornamental purposes and as a fence. In Java, young twigs that have been properly boiled, soaked in water and covered with sugar, have been eaten as sweetmeats.

Observations

• A spiny, succulent shrub or small tree up to 6(-9) m tall, branches tufted, ascending, 3-5-ribbed, with 3-5 mm long, persistent spines on the exsculptate ribs, young branches constricted at the joints.
• Leaves early caducous, obovate-spathulate or subrhomboid, 0.3-1.3 cm long, cuneate to attenuate at base, rounded to emarginate at apex, sessile.
• Inflorescence borne on the exsculptate ribs, composed of 1-7 cyathia, peduncles short, rigid, 0-2 times forked, bracts scale-like, about 2.5 mm long, pale green; cyathia with 5 pale yellow glands, 4-4.5 mm wide, anthers dark red.
• Capsule obtusely trigonous, 8-12 mm across, smooth.

E. antiquorum is found in dry, open, evergreen forest, in scrubby vegetation, on rocky limestone hills and on sandy soils, up to 800 m altitude.

Selected sources

• 97.Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• 202.Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A-H) pp. 1-1240. Vol. 2 (I- Z) pp. 1241-2444.
• 287.Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948-1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.
• 580.Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.
• 921.Matthew, K.M., 1981-1988. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic. 4 volumes. The Rapinat Herbarium, St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli, India.
• 1035.Nguyen Van Duong, 1993. Medicinal plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mekong Printing, Santa Ana, California, United States. 528 pp.
• 1126.Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. 620 pp.
• 1128.Pételot, A., 1952-1954. Les plantes médicinales du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam [The medicinal plants of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam]. 4 volumes. Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques et Techniques, Saigon, Vietnam.
• 1135.Philcox, D., 1997. Euphorbiaceae. In: Dassanayake, M.D. & Clayton, W.D. (Editors): A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol. 11. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. pp. 80-283.
• 1181.Radcliffe Smith, A., 1972. Euphorbia L. In: Airy Shaw, H. K. The Euphorbiaceae of Siam. Kew Bulletin 26: 261-268.
• 1185.Radcliffe Smith, A., 1981. Euphorbia L. In: Airy Shaw, H.K. An alphabetical enumeration of the Euphorbiaceae of the Philippine Islands. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. pp. 24-26.

Main genus page

• Euphorbia (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• Nguyen Nghia Thin & M.S.M. Sosef