Mala Mujer

Mala Mujer or Cnidoscolus angustidens is an interesting plant in Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family.  It’s found in southeastern Arizona and south into Sonora on rocky slopes from 2,500′ to 5,000′ in elevation. What makes it interesting, at least to me, are the green maple-like leaves covered in white dots that are actually little mounds, each holding up a stinging hair.  They do sting and some folks have a bad reaction to the sting. As you can see from the photo I clasped the stems and yes I got stung (very cool!), but I didn’t a bad reaction. Sometimes native plant nurseries will have this Euphorb in stock, so it’s well worth asking your favorite nursery person if they grow it.