About Euphorbia cotinifolia L.
Euphorbia cotinifolia L. is a broadleaf red shrub native to Mexico and South America. When grown as a shrub, it reaches 10 to 15 feet (3.0 to 4.6 meters) tall, but it can also be grown as a tree that reaches 30 feet (9.1 meters) tall. In summer, small white flowers with creamy bracts bloom at the ends of its branches. When broken, its purplish stems exude a sap that irritates skin.
The species' scientific name derives from two words: cotinus, meaning "smoketree", and folia, meaning "leaf". Common names for Euphorbia cotinifolia include smoketree spurge, tropical smoke bush, Caribbean copper plant, and Mexican shrubby spurge.
This species is well known in Central America. Its poisonous sap has been used both as medicine and as a poison. In folk medicine, it has been used as an emetic and a cathartic. Fishermen have added this sap to water in fishing grounds to stun fish and force them to float to the surface. Historically, native people of Curaçao used the sap to poison arrowheads. If the sap touches human skin or eyes, it can cause irritation. If ingested, the sap can cause severe damage to internal organs.
