576 



Vernac. names.— Tivw Calli (Malabar, Bheede) ; Tirukalli and 

 -various native names (India, lfa«).— Mlk-liedge, Milk-busTh. 



Believed to be a native of Tropical Africa, where it extends 

 in the East as far southwards as Natal and the Transkei in South 

 Africa ; it probably occurs in many other parts of the Continent 

 and although there is no specimen from Nigeria in the Herbarium 

 at Kew mention is made (Dalziel, Bull. Imp. Inst. 1907, p. 263) 

 that " the leafless Euphorbia TirucalU with acid milky juice is 

 found in Kontagora." NaturaKzed in India— drier tracts of 

 Bengal, the Deccan, South India— and Ceylon. 



Similar plants E. rhipsaloides Welw. {E. TirucalU, Ficalho) 

 are given in the Flora (I.e.) for Angola and E. scoparia, N.E. Br. 

 (E. TirucalU, Schweinf.) for Eritrea and Abyssinia, which for 

 all practical purposes may perhaps be regarded as the same. 

 The Angola plant is called " Almeidina," " Cassoneira " or 

 " Canume-numi " ; at Loanda it is " used for making fences 

 and hedges around the quintas and arinos, since it grows rapidly 

 and has numerous virgate, intricate and almost leafless branches " 

 (Hiern, Cat. Welw. Afr. PI. iv. p. 949). 



The use of " TirucalU " as a hedge plant seems to be common 

 everywhere. In East Africa Speke and Grant 



met 



'ccimen in Herb. Kew) " This forms 



Milk 



grows into a tree of 20 ft. high when planted singly and makes 

 a dense fence." In India where it is used for this purpose it has 

 been found that cattle apparently understanding the painful 

 nature of the juice will not attempt to break down a hedge of 

 the ijlant (Watt, seq.) ; often used for hedges, especially in the 

 Deccan (Gamble, Man. Ind. Timb. p. 591). 



As to other uses the plant was for many years regarded as of 

 little or no value, except for local purposes. In Imlia mixed 

 with mud the milk is used in N. Arcot in the construction of the 

 flat roofs of houses ; in Ganjam it is said to be used to intoxicate 

 and poison crows for which purpose a little of the milk is mixed 

 with boiled rice and fed to the birds ; the acrid juice is generally 

 well known as a purgative and counter-irritant (especially in 



amm 



India 



In Natal it was found about 1910 that rubber of good quahty 

 could be extracted from E. TirucalU by a process invented by 

 Dr. Aurel Schultz of Durban and an industry of some importance 

 ^ •--- been established there. The latex extracted from the 



since 



mixed 



mixed with rubber of better quality used for making tyi^es for 

 bicycles and motor cars (Kew Bull. 1914, p. 94). 



In the prospectus of the company formed (1911) to work the 

 product it was further stated to be in demand for belting water- 

 proofing, for insulating, making paint," varnish, &c. ; the price 

 for the raw product being sold about the same time at 5d~9d 



