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African milk tree

African milk tree noun: a type of succulent plant cultivated in West Africa, resembling a cactus, of species Euphorbia trigona.

Noun

African milk tree (plural African milk trees)

  1. A type of succulent plant cultivated in West Africa, resembling a cactus, of species Euphorbia trigona.
    • An example of a species found in western Africa is Euphorbia trigona, commonly known as the African milk tree. The sap of this species was able to cause loss of corneal epithelium 16 h after direct exposure to the sap in a 60-year-old male.2014 May 30, Victor Kuete, Toxicological Survey of African Medicinal Plants, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 505
    • One problem that you may encounter with your African milk tree is that because of their height and small root structure, these plants have a tendency to topple over.2017 September 14, Maaike Koster, Emma Sibley, “Euphorbia trigona”, in Urban Botanics: An Indoor Plant Guide for Modern Gardeners, Quarto Publishing Group USA, →ISBN

Synonyms of African milk tree

Forms of African milk tree

pluralAfrican milk trees

Origin of African milk tree

Named for the white latex released whenever one of the cylindrical stems is pierced or cut. See also African milk barrel.

Questions about African milk tree

What does African milk tree mean?
African milk tree means a type of succulent plant cultivated in West Africa, resembling a cactus, of species Euphorbia trigona.
What part of speech is African milk tree?
African milk tree is a noun.
What is the plural of African milk tree?
The plural of African milk tree is African milk trees.

Words near African milk tree in the dictionary

  1. African marigolds
  2. African massage
  3. African massages
  4. African medlar
  5. African milk barrel
  6. African milk tree
  7. African millet
  8. African mole cricket
  9. African mole crickets
  10. African myrrh
  11. African net sponge

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: African milk tree (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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