Family: Euphorbiaceae
High Risk Traits:
- Able to grow in dry subtropical climates
- One unconfirmed comment of weediness in South Africa
- Many Euphorbia species have become highly invasive weeds
- Spiny
- Unpalatable to animals
- Latex caustic to the skin, poisonous to animals and humans
- Tolerates many soil types (well-drained)
- Reproduces by seeds and vegetatively
- Seeds dispersed by gravity and intentionally by people
- Limited ecological information may minimize accuracy of risk prediction
Low Risk Traits:
- No confirmed reports of invasiveness or naturalization outside native range
- Medicinal uses
- Limited seed production in cultivation