Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Just Another Euphorb


Euphorbia submammillaris f. pfersdorfii


There's nothing very special about this Euphorb, except that as the stems grow, the tops become little knobby buttons. The knob forming process finally started on this one a couple of months ago during its summer growth spurt. Until this year's growth began, the stems had been uniform in size from top to bottom. As the stems continue to grow, they will become brown and woody looking, except for the green buttons on the top.

E. submammillaris is a miniature succulent shrub from South Africa. In habitat it can form clumps about two feet in diameter. I picked up this one at a Garden Center a few years ago when it was just a couple of stems. It has since clumped to the point that it has almost outgrown its pot.

Since this is just another Euphorb, in November I'll cut back on water and will keep it dry until early spring. All my Euphorb specimens get this same treatment.

3 comments:

Julie said...

These are kinda ugly and kinda cute, with their little starry knobs!
Julie

Aiyana said...

Julie,
You're right. The more I photograph my various Euphorbs, the more I notice that they are basically ugly. I promised myself to document every plant I have in my garden--so I have quite a few ugly Euphorbs to go!

Anonymous said...

I don't think it's just another one, I have one since some 15 years and I haven't seen any flower yet. If we try to find pictures of its flowers on the internet we won't find any single one.

Does anyone has some information on this?