Euphorbia characias

 Euphorbia characias, the Mediterranean spurge[2] or Albanian spurge,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae typical of the Mediterranean vegetation. It is an upright, compact evergreen shrub growing to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall and wide.

Euphorbia characias
Euphorbia characias RJB.jpg
Scientific classificationedit
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Tracheophytes
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Rosids
Order:Malpighiales
Family:Euphorbiaceae
Genus:Euphorbia
Species:
E. characias
Binomial name
Euphorbia characias
L.
Synonyms[1]
List
    • Characias purpurea Gray
    • Esula characias (L.) Haw.
    • Euphorbia cretica Mill.
    • Euphorbia cuatrecasasii Pau
    • Euphorbia eriocarpa Bertol.
    • Euphorbia lycia Boiss.
    • Euphorbia melapetala Gasp. ex Guss.
    • Euphorbia messeniaca Heldr. ex Halácsy nom. illeg.
    • Euphorbia rubens Chaix
    • Euphorbia sibthorpii Boiss.
    • Euphorbia veneta Willd.
    • Euphorbia wulfenii Hoppe ex W.D.J.Koch
    • Galarhoeus creticus (Mill.) Haw.
    • Tithymalus characias (L.) Hill
    • Tithymalus melapetalus (Gasp. ex Guss.) Klotzsch & Garcke
    • Tithymalus purpureus Lam.
    • Tithymalus serotina Raf.
    • Tithymalus sibthorpii (Boiss.) Soják
    • Tithymalus venetus (Willd.) Klotzsch & Garcke
    • Tithymalus wulfenii (Hoppe ex W.D.J.Koch) Soják
Euphorbia characias, Sète 01.jpg

DescriptionEdit

It has many woolly stems and characteristic black or dark brown nectar glands in the cyathia, which are borne in dense spherical clusters, from spring to early summer.[4] The fruits are smooth capsules. It is a tough plant, capable of resisting long periods of drought. It grows preferably in dry areas, often far away from the water table, both in flat as well as in mountainous terrain. This plant can also resist high salinity.[5]

SubspeciesEdit

Two main subspecies are found in different regions of the Mediterranean Basin. These often overlap in the western areas of distribution:

  • E. characias subsp. characias (s). From Portugal to Crete
  • E. characias subsp. wulfenii (Hoppe ex W.D.J.Koch) Radcl.-Sm. 1968 (s). From Southern France to Anatolia.

CultivationEdit

Euphorbia characias is valued as an ornamental plant for its ability to survive drought and its groundcovering capabilities. It is suitable for any location, sheltered or exposed, in light soil in full sun. It is fully hardy down to −10 °C (14 °F).[4]

CultivarsEdit

Garden cultivars are sold under the names ‘Black Pearl’, ‘Thelma's Giant’, ‘Lambrook Gold’, ‘Silver Swan’ and ‘Tasmanian Tiger’, among others. They come in a variety of colors, from silvery grey and bluish green to greenish yellow. These garden varieties are valued in Mediterranean or desert landscaping for not being highly demanding and for looking good despite lack of watering in sunny areas.[6]

The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-[7]

  • ‘Tasmanian Tiger’[8]
  • ‘Whistleberry Garnet’[9]
  • E. characias subsp. characias ‘Blue Hills’[10]
  • E. characias subsp. wulfenii ‘Jimmy Platt’[11]

UsesEdit

This plant also has uses in traditional medicine; like many other species of genus Euphorbia[12] its toxic white and sticky sap has been used to treat skin excrescences, like cancers, tumors, and warts, since ancient times.

GalleryEdit

  • Euphorbia characias13.jpg
    •  

  • Missouri Botanical Garden

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  • Euphorbia characias6.jpg
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  • (with Jacobaea maritima)

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article
 Metasyntactic variable, which is released under the 
Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.