If you have searched for Euphorbia candelabrum — whether in a field guide, on a plant nursery website, or in a botanical garden database — there is a very high probability that the plant you were reading about was not Euphorbia candelabrum. For forty years, one of the most widespread and iconic succulent trees in eastern Africa has been called by this name in error. The true Euphorbia candelabrum is a far more obscure species from Angola, while the grand candelabra trees of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania that have carried the name since the 1980s are, in fact, Euphorbia ingens — a species already well known from southern Africa. This article tells the story of one of the most consequential nomenclatural mix-ups in the genus Euphorbia and introduces the real Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. for the audience of Euphorbiaceae enthusiasts who have never knowingly encountered it.
The Nomenclatural Tangle: A 40-Year Case of Mistaken Identity
Understanding why the name Euphorbia candelabrum has been so widely misapplied requires a brief chronological account.
Act I: Welwitsch Names a Plant from Angola (1855)
In 1855, the Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch — best known today as the discoverer of Welwitschia mirabilis — presented a large, candelabra-shaped succulent tree from the vicinity of Luanda, Angola to the Linnean Society of London. He named it Euphorbia candelabrum Welw., published in Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London (volume 2, page 329). This was the first — and therefore legitimate — use of the name candelabrum within the genus Euphorbia.
Act II: Kotschy Uses the Same Name for a Sudanese Plant (1857)
Just two years later, in 1857, the Austrian botanist Carl Georg Theodor Kotschy published a description of a candelabra-shaped euphorbia from Mount Kaçane (near present-day Qeissan in eastern Sudan), which he also called Euphorbia candelabrum — attributing the name to the French explorer Pierre Trémaux, who had illustrated the plant in his Voyages au Soudan oriental (1853). However, Kotschy’s name is a later homonym of Welwitsch’s 1855 name: two different species cannot legitimately share the same name, and the earlier name has priority. Under the International Code of Nomenclature, Euphorbia candelabrum Trémaux ex Kotschy (1857) is therefore illegitimate (nom. illeg.).
Act III: Carter Applies the Wrong Name Across East Africa (1980s)
Despite Kotschy’s name being illegitimate, the British botanist Sue Carter — the leading authority on succulent euphorbias for the Flora of Tropical East Africa (FTEA) — adopted Euphorbia candelabrum Kotschy for the large candelabra trees of Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and surrounding countries. Carter published a paper in Taxon in 1985 arguing for the validity of Kotschy’s name, and her treatment was followed by the influential World Checklist and Bibliography of Euphorbiaceae (Govaerts, Frodin & Radcliffe-Smith, 2000). For the next four decades, essentially all field guides, botanical databases, and horticultural references for East Africa used Euphorbia candelabrum for these trees.
Act IV: Bruyns and Berry Set the Record Straight (2019)
In 2019, Peter V. Bruyns (University of Cape Town) and Paul E. Berry (University of Michigan) published a definitive paper in Taxon (volume 68, number 4, pages 828–838) that resolved the tangle:
- Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. (1855) from Angola is a legitimate, accepted name for a distinct species restricted to Angola.
- Euphorbia candelabrum Trémaux ex Kotschy (1857) from Sudan is an illegitimate later homonym. The plant Kotschy described is now placed under Euphorbia murielii N.E.Br. — a species from Sudan and South Sudan.
- The East and north-east African candelabra trees that Carter and subsequent authors attributed to “Euphorbia candelabrum” are, upon careful morphological examination, conspecific with Euphorbia ingens E.Mey. ex Boiss. (1862) — a species long known from southern Africa but whose range extends north through East Africa to southern Ethiopia.
The implications are sweeping: the vast majority of references to “Euphorbia candelabrum” in the botanical, horticultural, and popular literature since the 1980s actually refer to Euphorbia ingens. The “true” Euphorbia candelabrum is an Angolan endemic that almost no one outside specialist circles has ever knowingly seen.
What This Means for the Reader
If you are looking for information on the large candelabra-shaped succulent tree commonly grown in gardens, pictured in safari guidebooks, or encountered in the wild across East and southern Africa — the species you want is Euphorbia ingens. We have published a comprehensive article on Euphorbia ingens covering its taxonomy, ecology, the die-off phenomenon linked to climate change, cultivation, cold hardiness, and latex safety.
If you are looking for the plant Kotschy described from Sudan — a species distinct from Euphorbia ingens — the correct name is now Euphorbia murielii N.E.Br.
The remainder of this article describes the true Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. — the Angolan species that legitimately bears this name.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
Accepted name: Euphorbia candelabrum Welw., Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London 2: 329 (1855).
Author: Friedrich Welwitsch (1806–1872), Austrian botanist and explorer.
Type locality: Near Luanda, Angola. The neotype was designated by Leach (1992) from Welwitsch’s collection 641 (LISU223726).
Synonyms (POWO):
- Euphorbia conspicua N.E.Br. (1912) — nom. illeg. superfl.
Classification: Family Euphorbiaceae, genus Euphorbia, subgenus Euphorbia.
Distribution (POWO): Angola.
Description
Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. is a large succulent tree broadly similar in habit to Euphorbia ingens, forming a candelabra-like crown of erect, segmented, winged branches on a stout trunk. According to the Flora of Tropical Africa description by N.E. Brown (1912, under the synonym Euphorbia conspicua):
- Habit: Tree to approximately 12–20 m tall, with a single trunk up to about 90 cm in diameter and rough, fissured, grey bark.
- Branches: Persistent from approximately 3 m upwards, suberect, densely rebranching to form a large, broadly rounded crown. Terminal branchlets fleshy, predominantly four-angled (occasionally three- or five-angled), 5–10 cm wide, more or less square in cross-section to distinctly winged, with wings up to 2.5 cm wide.
- Spines: Paired, borne on horny spine shields along the wing margins.
- Flowers: Cyathia in clusters along the ridges of the upper branchlets.
- Fruit: Capsule shortly exserted on a stout pedicel approximately 5 mm long, two- to three-locular, subglobose (approximately 8 × 12 mm), fleshy, green becoming red, hardening before dehiscence.
- Seeds: Subglobose, slightly compressed, approximately 3 mm in diameter, greyish-brown speckled with paler brown, smooth.
How Does It Differ from Euphorbia ingens?
The morphological distinction between Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. and Euphorbia ingens is subtle and remains a subject of ongoing study. Bruyns and Berry (2019) demonstrated that the East African plants previously attributed to “Euphorbia candelabrum” Kotschy are conspecific with Euphorbia ingens, but they maintained Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. from Angola as a distinct species. The key differences, as currently understood, are:
- Distribution: Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. is restricted to Angola; Euphorbia ingens ranges from Eritrea and Ethiopia south to South Africa.
- Branch morphology: Detailed branch dimensions and spine shield characters may differ, but precise diagnostic criteria between the two species require further taxonomic work and are not yet firmly established in published literature.
For the non-specialist, the two species are essentially indistinguishable in appearance, which is precisely why the nomenclatural confusion persisted for so long.
The Third Player: Euphorbia murielii
The Sudanese plant originally described under the illegitimate name Euphorbia candelabrum Trémaux ex Kotschy (1857) is now correctly called Euphorbia murielii N.E.Br. (1912). It is native to Sudan and South Sudan and is a distinct species from both Euphorbia ingens and Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. The lectotype illustration is Trémaux’s plate 13 from Voyages au Soudan oriental (1853), depicting a candelabra tree near Mount Kaçane.
Habitat and Ecology
Information specific to Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. (as distinct from Euphorbia ingens) is limited due to the long-standing nomenclatural confusion. In Angola, the species grows in savanna and dry woodland, in conditions broadly similar to those occupied by Euphorbia ingens further south and east: rocky outcrops, bushveld, and hillsides in semi-arid tropical climates.
Angola harbours an exceptional diversity of Euphorbia species. A 2020 study by Frazão et al. documented Euphorbia as the most species-rich plant genus in Angola, with Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. among the noteworthy endemics.
Cultivation
Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. is extremely rare in cultivation outside Angola. The vast majority of plants sold or labelled as “Euphorbia candelabrum” in nurseries and botanical gardens worldwide are actually Euphorbia ingens (or, less commonly, Euphorbia ammak). If you have purchased a plant under this name, it is almost certainly Euphorbia ingens, and you should refer to our Euphorbia ingens care guide for cultivation advice.
If by exceptional circumstance you do possess a verified Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. from Angola, the cultural requirements would be broadly similar to those of Euphorbia ingens: full sun, well-drained soil, minimal watering, and frost protection (USDA zones 10–11).
Toxicity
As with all large succulent euphorbias, the latex of Euphorbia candelabrum is extremely caustic and dangerous. The same precautions applicable to Euphorbia ingens apply here: sealed goggles, thick gloves, no power tools for pruning, and immediate medical attention for any eye contact. See our detailed safety section in the Euphorbia ingens article.
Conservation Status
Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. has not been individually assessed by the IUCN. As an Angolan endemic, its conservation status depends on the integrity of its savanna and woodland habitats, which face ongoing pressure from agricultural expansion, charcoal production, and land-use change. Like all succulent Euphorbia species, it is listed on CITES Appendix II.
FAQ
Is Euphorbia candelabrum the same as Euphorbia ingens?
No — but it has been confused with Euphorbia ingens for forty years. The true Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. is an Angolan endemic. The large candelabra trees of East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania) that were called “Euphorbia candelabrum” from the 1980s until 2019 are actually Euphorbia ingens, as demonstrated by Bruyns & Berry (2019).
Why was the name misapplied for so long?
Because the East African botanist Sue Carter, in the 1980s, adopted the illegitimate name Euphorbia candelabrum Kotschy (1857) for the East African candelabra trees, and her treatment was followed by the authoritative World Checklist of Euphorbiaceae (2000). It took until 2019 for Bruyns and Berry to formally resolve the nomenclature.
Which name should I use for the large candelabra trees in East Africa?
Euphorbia ingens E.Mey. ex Boiss. This species ranges from Eritrea and southern Ethiopia through East Africa to South Africa.
What is Euphorbia murielii?
Euphorbia murielii N.E.Br. is a species from Sudan and South Sudan. It is the correct name for the plant that Kotschy described in 1857 under the illegitimate name “Euphorbia candelabrum.”
I bought a plant labelled Euphorbia candelabrum. What do I actually have?
Almost certainly Euphorbia ingens. True Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. from Angola is virtually absent from the horticultural trade. Refer to our Euphorbia ingens article for identification and care.
Sources and References
- Bruyns, P.V. & Berry, P.E. (2019). “The nomenclature and application of the names Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. and Euphorbia ingens in tropical Africa.” Taxon, 68(4): 828–838. DOI: 10.1002/tax.12091. — The definitive paper resolving the nomenclatural confusion.
- Plants of the World Online (POWO), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. Accepted name (Angola).
- Plants of the World Online (POWO) — Euphorbia candelabrum Trémaux ex Kotschy — Synonym of Euphorbia murielii.
- Plants of the World Online (POWO) — Euphorbia murielii N.E.Br. Accepted name (Sudan–South Sudan).
- Plants of the World Online (POWO) — Euphorbia ingens E.Mey. ex Boiss. Accepted name (Eritrea to South Africa).
- Leach, L.C. (1992). “Euphorbia candelabrum auctt.” Collectanea Botanica (Barcelona), 21: 91–95.
- Carter, S. (1985). “Euphorbia candelabrum, a question of validity (Euphorbiaceae).” Taxon, 34: 699–701.
- Frazão, R. et al. (2020). “Species richness and distribution of the largest plant radiation of Angola: Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae).” Biodiversity and Conservation, 29(1): 187–206.
- Welwitsch, F.M.J. (1855). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, 2: 329.
- Kotschy, C.G.T. (1857). Mittheilungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Geographischen Gesellschaft in Wien, 1(2): 156–182.
Authority Pages — Best Online Resources
GBIF — Euphorbia candelabrum — Occurrence records (note: most georeferenced records will correspond to E. ingens due to the historical misapplication).
POWO — Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. — Accepted name, distribution (Angola), synonymy.
POWO — Euphorbia ingens — The species to which most “E. candelabrum” references actually apply.
POWO — Euphorbia murielii — The correct name for the Sudanese plant formerly called “E. candelabrum” Kotschy.
Wikispecies — Euphorbia candelabrum — Detailed nomenclatural history with full citation trail and type information.
Wikispecies — Euphorbia ingens — Synonymy including former “E. candelabrum” var. bilocularis.
Wikispecies — Euphorbia murielii — Type information and nomenclatural notes.
Bruyns & Berry (2019) — Full text (University of Michigan) — Open-access repository for the key Taxon paper.
World Flora Online — Euphorbia candelabrum Trémaux ex Kotschy — Full morphological description (from FTEA) of the plant formerly called E. candelabrum in East Africa (= E. ingens).