Euphorbia horrida, the African milk barrel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to South Africa.

It is a cactus-like shrub showing remarkable similarities to the true cacti of the New World, and thus an example of convergent evolution.

[2] Growing to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), it has blue-green, heavily ridged spiny stems carrying solitary green flowers in summer.

It develops new shoots laterally at the base of the plant (offset)s, often forming roots and thus a successful means of propagation.

[3] This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.