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Products > Synadenium compactum var. rubrum
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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Euphorbiaceae (Spurges) |
| Origin: Africa, East (Africa) |
| Red/Purple Foliage: Yes |
| Flower Color: Red |
| Bloomtime: Summer/Fall |
| Synonyms: [S. grantii 'Rubra', Euphorbia bicompacta] |
| Height: 8-12 feet |
| Width: 6-8 feet |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
| May be Poisonous (More Info): Yes |
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Synadenium compactum var. rubrum (African Milk Bush) - A upright semi-evergreen to deciduous (in California) shrub that grows typically to 6 to 15 feet tall but in habitat to over 20 feet. It has thick 5-8 inch long leaves that can be entirely red or green, or a combination of both on the upper surface and purple-red beneath. Occasionally blooms with minute red flowers (bracts). Plant in full sun to light shade. Give occasional to little irrigation. It is frost tender but leaves re-emerge without stem damage after mild frosts and the plant can resprout from base if top is frozen at short duration temperatures much below 25 F. As with most plants in the Euphorbia family the sap is toxic but this plant produces a copious amount of sap or "milk" and care needs to be taken when cutting or working with the plant that it not be allowed to get in the eyes. The latex is known to be oil soluble so if it gets on your skin it can be removed with any cooking oil, much as it done with beach tar. African Milk Bush is native to rocky slopes in open bushland in the Kaivasha District in Kenya. It is also known as the "Purple Leaf Brown Jug Plant" or "Red Milk Bush" and is often confused in horticulture with the larger and greener Synadenium grantii that also grows in Kenya but also in Uganda and further south. In the most recent taxonomic treatment Synadenium compactum var. rubrum has be renamed Euphorbia bicompacta var. rubra (S.Carter) Bruyns (Synadenium grantii was renamed Euphorbia umbellata (Pax) Bruyns), but we continue to list it under its older name until such time as this name gets better recognized.
Information displayed on this page about Synadenium compactum var. rubrum is based on the research conducted about it in our library and from reliable online resources. We also note those observations we have made of this plant as it grows in the nursery's garden and in other gardens, as well how crops have performed in our nursery field. We will incorporate comments we receive from others, and welcome to hear from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if they share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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