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Thursday, March 23, 2023

Philadelphia Flower Show - Another Euphorbia


For sheer bizarre-ness and variation in the species of one genus, Euphorbia is hard to beat. That makes it one of my favorite genera. The general common name is "Spurge." This is the 17th different Euphorbia I've shared on the blog. There are about 2000 species, so I'm sure not anywhere near seeing even a tiny collection. I know you know one of them. Poinsettia is a Euphorbia.

There were probably more of them at the Philadelphia Flower Show, but I did not spend as much time viewing the displays of individual plants as I usually do. We go for one day, 7 hours, and it's just not possible to see it all in detail.

However, here is one of the species, Euphorbia tirucalli. I think I have seen this before, but didn't have a picture of it. It is native to Africa and is sometimes called sticks-on-fire (it has a latex sap that can cause temporary blindness), pencil tree (it grows into a tree with a thin trunk and clusters of these green "pencils" at the ends), naked lady, Indian tree spurge, and milk bush (probably because of the latex sap).

This one was about four feet tall, not yet like a tree. It was part of a display from Longwood Gardens of rare or unusual plants.
Euphorbia tirucalli


Today, I shopped and then made peanut butter muffins. They have bran and raisins and cranberries in them. They are not very sweet, and I think they make an excellent breakfast. I ate a couple and the rest are going in the trailer with me.
muffins


I'm pretty well ready. Just a few things to load in the morning, one errand, and hitch up. I hope to leave at noon.

See other Euphorbias

4 comments:

Ellie said...

Wishing you safe travels, What part of the trail will you be hiking? I hope the Mother Nature smiles on your hike!

Ann said...

Interesting plant.
Those muffins look good.

The Oceanside Animals said...

Lulu: "Our Dada is a big fan of euphorbia! Unfortunately he planted several in the ground before realizing we get hard frosts here in winter, so now he only has a few of them, in sheltered locations ..."

Sharkbytes said...

Ellie- I am taking up where I left off, just north of the Mackinac Bridge

Ann- if you like pb, they are good

Lulu- I'm sure there are species that will grow anywhere.