Euphorbia lactea f. monstrose
This is a “monstrose” variety of a cactus-like Euphorbia that is native to Asia, especially India. If “monstrose” sounds like a horrifying, twisted mutation, that’s exactly what it is. Well, except that it occurs naturally, and produces growth that many people find appealing. Plants normally have growth points—locations with actively dividing cells where new growth occurs—typically at the ends of branches. But if the growth points occur randomly all over the plant surface, new growth is disorderly, producing rather odd results called monstrose forms. (There are also cristate (crested) forms, where growth occurs in a line, producing fanlike or crested shapes, and the normal form.)
Plants: Plants are shrubs, to 6½′ (2 m) tall, creating irregular, folded forms with reddish edges that have inconspicuous, nearly invisible leaves.
Leaves: Tiny ovate leaves are present only rarely.
Flowers: Cyathia appear rarely, in pairs.
Habitats: Abundant sun, very well-drained sandy soil.
Edibility: Poisonous 
Like other euphorbias,
these contain a poisonous milky latex. They can cause nausea and vomiting if eaten, severe
eye irritation and temporary blindness, and dermatitis.
Online References:
Wikipedia (Euphorbia lactea)
Top Tropicals (Euphorbia lactea f. cristata (crested form))
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (Euphorbia lactea)
The USDA Plants Database (Euphorbia lactea)
Www.botanical-dermatology-database.info (Euphorbia lactea)
HEAR: the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (Euphorbia lactea)
The label says Euphorbia monstrosus, but I think this is the monstose form of E. lactea · 4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland 
ID is uncertain 
4/11/2011 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland 
12/3/2011 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Malpighiales | A broad group encompassing 16,000 species |
| Family | Euphorbiaceae | Euphorbia or spurge family |
| Genus | Euphorbia | An extremely diverse-looking genus of mostly tropical and subtropical succulent plants. For Euphorbus, corpulent Greek physician of Juba II, King of Mauretania. Literally, “euphorbia” means “well-fed” |
| Species | lactea | Milky or milk-white |
| f. | monstrose | From Latin monstruosus, “strange, unnatural, or deviating from the natural order” |
Euphorbia lactea f. monstrose description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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