Euphorbia milii

Euphorbia milii :-

 

It's beautiful but also grotesque vicious at the same time, thorns look lethal

 

Thanks @Perki, you want to see it without leaves, it looks really nasty. The thorns are not as sharp as they look though

 

Here is mine back in July, sort of enjoying the extreme heat ...

 

My white Euphorbia milii is starting to flower now. It's still a small plant at the moment.

 

What defines a plant as a euphorbia? I love most euphorbia but none of mine look like that.

 

They have a milky sap inside the stems, which is apparently poisonous.
Also the flowers all have the same basic structure, even though they may look slightly different. That is true of all plant families actually, if the flowers have the same basic structure they belong to the same family.
So Buttercups and Aquilegias belong to the same family - Ranunculaceae, because if you dissect the flowers you will see they have the same basic structure, although they may look different.

 

I see what you mean about the flowers @Michael Hewett
But what about the leaves? Are they relevant?

 

@BB3 plant families are founded on the basic plan of the flowers e.g. arrangement of petals, stamens etc and where the pistil is situated etc. If the flowers of different plants have the same basic structure they belong to the same family, leaves and stems don't count. Some Euphorbias are succulent and look very much like cacti, with spines and swollen stems, but their flowers all have the same basic structure so they all belong to the Euphorbia family.

 

It really is the flowers that are the basis of a definite id, leaves may give you an idea, but can be misleading for example I grow a lilac with leaves very similar to an ash tree, the flowers are definitely like a lilac though. Also last Sunday I bought a dahlia with leaves just like a hydrangea and another plant (Strobilanthes mastersii) also with hydrangea like leaves.

 

Euphorbia really is one of those that can catch you out though, the succulent euphorbias look totally unrelated to the shrubby plants we grow in our gardens in the UK.

I'm surprised those in high places haven't decided a name change is in order.

 

There's also a little green weed that grows in my garden, which is a Euphorbia. It's quite pretty really so I often leave it alone. It looks different to the cultivated garden varieties, and totally different to the succulent ones.

I think the change of name depends on the plant's DNA.