Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Excoecaria oppositifolia oppositifolia

(Excoecaria oppositifolia oppositifolia)

en

Description

Excoecaria is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae, formally described by Linnaeus in 1759. The genus is native to the Old World Tropics (Africa, southern Asia, northern Australia, and assorted oceanic islands). The milky latex of Excoecaria agallocha, also known as Thillai, milky mangrove, blind-your-eye mangrove and river poison tree, is poisonous. Mangroves of this plant surround the ancient Thillai Chidambaram Temple in Tamil Nadu. Contact with skin can cause irritation and rapid blistering; contact with eyes will result in temporary blindness. It is distributed in the Pichavaram wetlands, near Chidambaram India, in Australia from northern New South Wales, along the northern coastline around to Western Australia.The latex is extremely poisonous. Even dried and powdered leaves contain the poison which can kill fish very quickly.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum:
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Malpighiales
Family:Euphorbiaceae
Genus:Excoecaria
News coming your way
The biggest news about our planet delivered to you each day