looks like the aliens have landed...

LOL. Tall & skinny ......... England's Next Top Cactus Model?

I like the little hand sticking up out of the shorter stem of the plant. 'Please may I go and explore this new planet?'

Lori:

It looks like Euphorbia trigona. I left a message yesterday on my E. ammak photo that most likely you had this one.

I have one, which I've had for 10 years...it's 6ft/2m tall. In the ground here it can grow more than three times that height. Some of my neighbors have huge, old E. trigona in their yards.

Here's a pic of one almost at the Mexican border.

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/79794-euphorbia-trigona-african-milk-tree/member/Delonix1

I Google imaged ET (AKA Euphorbia Trigona)AKA African Milk Tree). Afficionados find it so interesting, that it reaches the bottom of the screen, and does not go into bunches of red roses, motorcycles and bikinis and handbags that other boring images straggle into. Realised a friend has this one, just inside her front door. started in the bathroom from a cutting, and now guards the front entrance.

Euphorbia twiggona ...aye, Dwyllis?
Thanks D1 and Dorjac. African milk tree...makes sense..when I was given it ..it was sitting in a very small azalea pot! it was so top heavy that Rufus (then quite small) toppled it...it was grazed by something and there was white sap all over my hand. As soon as it was warm enough I took it out to the greenhouse and gave it a larger clay pot and some nice fresh sand/compost. It has grown another 8" since then and the branching is starting...I'm excited because I've never been much good with succulents or cacti! Just hope I can keep it going over the winter indoors.

One comment on images said that the white sap is very irritating Lori. He couldn't see clearly for a couple of days after getting some in one eye, so be careful when handling this plant. He thought glasses and gloves should be worn. You don't think of these things sometimes until you have been hurt by something.

Thanks for the warning, Dorjac. Seems we're always finding the dark side to a beloved plant, don't you find?
I washed my hands immediately as the sap had a stickiness I didn't like...so I did the right thing for the wrong reason! The gash in the side of the plant healed over readily and it didn't seem to suffer from the injury. It is visible on the left side of the left shoot just below the first branching. Don't think Rufus got any on him. At least he seems ok well after the fact.
The scariest plant I grow is the Ricinis communis. I planted it on the opposite side of the stream from the house ...Rufus seldom goes there.
Part of getting old is that you sometimes lose memories (for a period of time)...and then back they come after you've looked like a fool... My friend Mike in Massachusetts has a E.trigona and he told me about the sap...(who's a sap?) lol.... This was about 6 months ago. Time sure flies.