Candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica)

   

Chihuahuan Desert Gardens, Centennial Museum. Photograph by A.H. Harris.

• Common English Names: Candelilla
• Common Spanish Names: Candelilla
• Scientific Name: Euphorbia antisyphilitica (ewe-FORB-ee-uh ann-tee-siff-fill-LIT-ih-cuh)
• Family: Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family)
• Geographic Range: Southern Trans-Pecos Texas, Durango, Chihuahua, and Coahuila, south to Querétaro and Hidalgo.
• Plant Form: Evergreen shrub to 3' tall.
• Remarks: Clusters of thin, upright, pencil-like stems. Flowers are small, pinkish in the center and becoming cream farther out. Flowers occur in clusters on the stems. Stems are covered with a high quality wax—the plants have been greatly overharvested in Mexico for this wax. It requires little water, full sun. Frost sensitive. Sap may be irritating. The common name means "little candle", referring to the appearance of the stems; the scientific name comes from the folk lore that the plant is effective for treatment of venereal disease.

Last Update: 4 Jul 2002