A poisonous alkaloid compound found in certain euphorbia plants, capable of causing severe irritation or toxicity.
From 'euphorbia' + '-ine' (suffix for alkaloids and chemical compounds). Isolated and named in the 19th century when botanists began studying the active compounds in these plants.
Euphorbine is one of those plant compounds that exists just to make the plant nasty to eat—it's a chemical weapon, evolution's way of saying 'don't chew me,' which is why some caterpillars actually evolved to tolerate it and use the plant as camouflage.
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