TOXIC PLANT PROFILE: CROWN OF THORNS
Clipboard researched by Dallas Jamison, Henry Rivero and Rick VanderKnyff / Los Angeles Times. Graphics by Doris Shields / Los Angeles Times
CROWN OF THORNS (Euphorbia milii): Parts of this thorny, vinelike plant of the spurge family can be poisonous if eaten. Native to Madagascar, this popular houseplant has stout, gray spines, oval leaves that drop as they age, and paired clusters of small flowers surrounded by two bracts.