Rubber from the Euphorbia balsamifera - Malpaís de Güímar - Tenerife

The information board here states that the extraction of latex from the Euphorbia balsamifera was a major activity here.

In the past, latex was used to make wine barrels waterproof.

The plant varies greatly in height and can be described as a low shrub or as a small tree of 2 to 5 meters in height . Although the plant is poisonous , it is a popular local medicinal plant , sold in local markets and also occasionally used as food by cooking the leaves. In Morocco it is widely used in dentistry as anesthesia for the treatment of acute dental pulpitis.

The poison of the plant was also used for a special method of fishing: the embabascado. This consisted of poisoning the water in the pools with cardón milk or bitter tabaiba, to ensure the stunning of the fish.

Superstitiously, it is fed to camels in the Sahara , because the lichen that usually covers the bark allows them to see at night . The Fula of northern Nigeria sometimes feed the latex to their cattle and other livestock to promote fertility and increase their milk flow.

Willem Vandenameele