| Positive | artcons | On Dec 13, 2005, artcons from Fort Lauderdale, FL
(Zone 10b) wrote:Variegated Devil's Backbone, Pedilanthus tithymaloides var. cucullatus is a succulent shrub with zigzagged stems. The plant exudes milky sap when broken. The sap may cause contact dermatitis in some individuals.
I made my plant from a cutting taken at a local community garden. The colorations of this var are green on green vs the green on white colors of the Pedilanthus tithymaloides.
In researching it's origins I did not find a web page with US origins for the plant, yet I found it growing in Fort Lauderdale.
It's easy to grow, and can add nice year round color and interest to gardens in the zone 10 area. Light has a lot to do with the colorations of the leaves. More light and the leaves get a rosey colored edge.
During my searches for the plant (Pedilanthus tithymaloides) I was amazed at the many uses of this plant, aside from the beauty it adds to our gardens.
In India it’s being researched as a biofuel. When processed it has 1 ˝ times the caloric value of gasoline. The plant is also being tested to treat diabetes mellitus, Tuberculosis and alcoholics. In Cuba it is reported to have a wide range of healing properties such as emetic, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antiseptic, antihemorrhagic, antiviral, antitumoral, and abortive.”
Then on the other side of the story, from an Australian site, “Records indicate that the plants in this genus are a common and significant cause of hospital poisonings.”
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5 members have or want this plant for trade.
