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Plant

Devil's Backbone

Euphorbia tithymaloides

IUCN: Least Concern
Devil's Backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides) photographed by Devendra Bhardwaj

Image: Devendra Bhardwaj · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0 · Jhalana Doongri, Jaipur, Rajasthan · Resized

Scientific name
Euphorbia tithymaloides
Family
Euphorbiaceae, order Malpighiales
Group
Plant
Conservation status
Least Concern

A zig-zag stem with tiny red slipper flowers.

  • Spot it Zig-zag succulent stems and red slipper-like flowers.
  • Home Gardens.
  • Food web Bees and sunbirds visit the bright flowers.
  • Why it matters Gives pollinators food in dry weather.

Read more: Euphorbia tithymaloides on Wikipedia

Sources and credits

Records and field notes

  • RajasthanDevendra Bhardwaj has 1 verified record of this species on iNaturalist in 2009, in Jaipur.[20]

Sources

  1. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (species pages linked on each entry) (database). Global conservation status. Every species page was opened.
  2. Devendra Bhardwaj. iNaturalist observations and notes, with place and date (inaturalist.org/people/devendrabhardwaj) (field record). The observer's own dated records and notes, with places. Statements in his notes are his own and were not independently checked by KJVF.
  3. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and GBIF species data (family, order, Hindi names, IUCN category) (database). Open biodiversity data. Used for classification, Hindi common names and the IUCN category where one is given.
  4. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (opening lines of each species article, CC BY-SA 4.0). The link on each entry goes to the article (reference). Not peer reviewed. Only the opening description is used, and statements about origin or medicinal use are left out.
  5. Short introductions and key points written with AI help (Google Gemini and Claude) and checked against GBIF where possible (reference). AI-assisted text for general readers. Please check important details before relying on them.

The tag before each record shows the place it was checked for.

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