6 ft. Tall cacti need help identifying

[Auntie Em]

I inherited a 6 ft.tall cactus that someone was giving away for free on Craigslist. The owner raised it from a little 6 inch specimen til now, over 6 ft.tall. He wasn't able to tell me anything about it other than he bought it at a grocery store here in Dubuque, Iowa over 25 years ago. I'm shocked that he was able to grow it to the size it is especially here in Iowa. I'd like to know what I have and how to go about caring for it once it's been identified. I wasn't able to get a pic of it viewing from above it as it almost touches the ceiling. Hoping someone will be able to help me with my query. Appreciate any and all help I can get. Thank you!

[leland]

looks like a euforbia to me. Maybe a succulent specialists could ID it.

[Auntie Em]

I just google some pics and that's EXACTLY what it looks like! OMG! I'm so excited! I think you're right! Thanks so much for your input!

[leland]

euforbias occupy habitat in places like Africa that Cacti do in the Americas. Often they have the same forms, spines, etc., but they are a different family. Post in the succulent ID section and maybe somebosy can give you a complete name.

[Auntie Em]

Leland I did a little more research and I'm almost 100% sure you're correct in your assumption. It looks like the photos I've looked at of the Euphoria Candelabrum. This cacti or succulent (not sure which at this point in time) has a white milky latex substance that can weep out of it and is poisonous. As a matter of fact, when my boyfriend was in the process of moving it into my home, a piece of it broke off and some of that latex got on his skin. The next day there was an area on his arm that was red and swollen, about the size of an egg. He said he merely got a drop of that milky substance on his arm and washed it off right away. Now he has little raised bumps in the area and the redness is going away, so he obviously had an allergic reaction to it. Guess I need to be careful from here on out as I tried cleaning it up a bit to get some of the dust off of it and in the process scratched my hands and arms up pretty bad! My research shows that it's quite easy to take care of so I think I've got myself a lovely specimen. They can grow to be 20 feet or more!