Its not a cactus and its not a pencil.
It seeks revenge only on those who don't know that.

The plant is Euphorbia tirucalli.

Like all Euphorbia, it has a caustic white sap that can blister the skin.


"glenon" wrote in message
. ..
In trying to move a cape honeysuckle from my very big pencil cactus, I got
the milky sticky sap from the cactus - THIS IS A WARNING! Always wear
gloves when working with the cactus! The sap caused lots of irritation to
me, stings a lot! especially on mucuous membranes. I had to change my
contact lenses and my eyes were watering and stinging for several hours.
And yes, I had washed my hands thoroughly several times before touching my
eyes! This stuff even got on icecubes that I took with my hands (again
washed) from the bin - as I drank my iced water, my mouth and lips were
stinging and hurting a lot! So, gardeners, beware the pencil cactus - it
seeks revenge!

--
gloria - only the iguanas know for sure