Botanical Name: Euphorbia tirucalli Common Names: Pencil Cactus, Indian tree spurge, Description: The Pencil Plant or Euphorbia Tirucalli is a succulent native to South and East Africa. The plant’s namesake branches are pencil-like and grow upward in a candelabra pattern. Young branches are cylindrical, smooth, and green, but with age can turn gray and rough like tree bark. Its leaves are small and slender and fall off quickly. This succulent yields a highly toxic milky sap if broken or torn. The Pencil Plant is otherwise very agreeable, surviving in nearly any condition that is both dry and above freezing. In favorable conditions, it is able to grow between two and 20 inches in a single season.