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Devil's Backbone

Euphorbia tithymaloides, Euphorbiaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Japanese Poinsettia, Myrtle-leaved Spurge, Redbird Flower, Slipper Flower and Zig Zag Plant.

Devil's Backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides), the whole plant.
Tris T7, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Devil's Backbone is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Toxic to people. Toxic to people (low severity). NC State Extension

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full sun, Partial Shade
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Water
Good Drainage, Moist
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam (Silt), Sand; pH Neutral (6.0-8.0)
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
Toxic to people (low severity)
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Water once the soil is dry 1 to 2 inches down.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Propagate from stem cuttings.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

Flowers of Devil's Backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides).
FlowersAtudu, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Euphorbia tithymaloides is a perennial succulent spurge native to the tropical and subtropical areas of North America and Central America. An erect shrub, the plant is also known by the scientific name Pedilanthus tithymaloides. However, the genus Pedilanthus has been subsumed into the genus Euphorbia, and is more correctly known by its new name.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Florida, Mexico to Trop. America
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Florida to Tropical Americas and Mexico
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
shrub
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Shrub; habit clumping
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 24–120 in; width 12–24 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers red/burgundy; blooms in spring, summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Euphorbia

More of the Euphorbiaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.