Euphorbia tithymaloides is a perennial succulent spurge.Sajeva and Costanzo, Succulents: The Illustrated Dictionary, 1994, p. 185. An erect shrub,Vardhana, Direct Uses of Medicinal Plants and Their Identification, 2008, p. 261. the plant is also known by the scientific name Pedilanthus tithymaloides. However, the genus Pedilanthus has been submerged into the genus Euphorbia, and is more correctly known by its new name (Euphorbia tithymaloides).