#mediterranean spurge

[blogbirdfeather]

Mediterranean Spurge - Trovisco-macho (Euphorbia characias)

Sintra/Portugal (11/01/2024)

[Nikon P900; 50mm with flash; 1/30s; F6,3; 140 ISO]

[photosbyjez]

Burnet-Saxifrage -- FOTD Aug 30

Hi all 👋 My latest post for Cee’s FOTD. Burnet-saxifrage

[o-craven-canto]

Euphorbia euphoria

Was sent this by a friend:

which is a reference to this:

namely, the fact that the wild mustard Brassica oleracea, once domesticated, produced a bewildering variety of vegetables by selecting each cultivar for a different part (cabbages from terminal buds, Brussels ssprouts from lateral buds, broccoli and cauliflower from flower buds, kale from leaves, and so on), all of them still being technically part of the same species, Brassica oleracea var. whatever.

Now, as far as I know, nobody has bred B. oleracea into a tree. But there is, not quite a single species, but a genus, that has gotten pretty close to that kind of internal morphological diversity:

Behold Euphorbia, the genus of spurges, counting over 2000 species (that nevertheless are often capable of interbreeding) scattered throughout all continents:

Euphorbia dendroides (Mediterranean)

The poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima (Central America)

Euphorbia actinoclada (East Africa)|, one of the many cactus-like species (cacti proper are all American species except one, so if you see a cactus-like plant in an African or Asian deserts, odds are it's actually a kind of euphorbia)

Euphorbia trigona (Central Africa)

Euphorbia myrsinites (Southeast Europe)

Euphorbia obesa (South Africa)

Euphorbia ferox (South Africa)

Euphorbia ampliphylla (East Africa) (source)

Euphorbia aphylla (Canary Islands)

Euphorbia helioscopia (Eurasia and Africa)

And so on, and so on...

[flowerishness]

Euphorbia characias (var. wulfenii) (Mediterranean spurge)

Green flowers

Flowering plants evolved about 140 million years ago but for the first forty million, they weren’t particularly colorful. Their basic contract with insects was the same, you help us with seed production and we’ll give you food (pollen and nectar) in return. But then the bees evolved and, all of sudden, flowering plants became a lot more beautiful. This is because bees have much better color vision than most insects. Bees are sometimes described as wasps that became strictly vegetarian.

Maybe, the Mediterranean spurge didn’t get the memo - it has green flowers! All true petals developed from conventional leaves anyway but this spurge seems to have got stuck, half way through the process. What appear to be green, cuplike petals are just highly specialized leaves (bracts) but bees are still attracted to it’s flowers. In addition to almost full-color vision, bees are very good with edges, and they can see this flower’s shape just fine.

[dansnaturepictures]

06/03/2024-Silver-sided Sector spider, post sunset sky, blossom and Collared Dove today, Great Crested Grebe and Canada Geese at Lakeside Country Park, Mediterranean Gulls at Hayling Island and sky at Testwood Lakes in recent days and phone photos of spurge at Winchester Cathedral and beautiful frosted red deadnettle this morning. Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, Wren, Great Tit and hyacinth were great to see in Winchester too with Cetti's Warbler heard by the River Itchen.

[nedsecondline]

Mediterranean Spurge — FOTD Nov 25

Hi all My latest post for Cee’s FOTD. Mediterranean Spurge I did an AI watercolour transformation for this interesting succulent. Mediterranean spurgeMediterranean Spurge — FOTD Nov 25

[47015741]

{Euphorbia characias} Mediterranean spurge, injuriously poisonous plant, its sap can burn your skin off. Used from ancient time as medicine for removal of warts, growths and other tumors on skin by sheer power to burn them off painfully, IT IS VERY MUCH NOT RECOMENDED TO DO THAT!!!!

[year1fmprvpart2]

Basic plant research

I decided to start by searching up plants that can survive in intense weather conditions (https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/garden/plants/a28548574/garden-plants-types-of-weather/)

This is what i found :

1. Euphorbia Characias

Commonly known as the Mediterranean Spurge, this green plant can grow up to 1.2 meters in height. Perfect to add into your garden if you want your outdoor space to look fuller all year round.

2. Hydrangea Arborecens ‘Annabelle’

Plant this striking flower in boarders around your garden for a beautiful splash of white. Its flower heads can grow as large as 30cm in width and make a statement wherever they are planted. It's worth noting that they can be toxic to dogs and cats, so take care if you're a pet owner.

3. Rosa ‘Wedding Day’

These beautiful lemon-white roses bare large clusters of scented flowers that are sure to brighten up your outdoor space the moment they bloom. For best results, grow this flower in well-soiled, moist ground and ensure it gets plenty of sunlight.

4. Iris Pseudacorus

Ideal for wildlife gardens, the rich nectar of this plant will attract bees, hoverflies and other insects. This is perfect to plant near a pond if you have one.

5. Geranium Phaeum

This plant is prone to self-seed so can be useful to fill large spaces in the garden. Commonly called dusky crane's-bill, mourning widow or black widow, the dark violet flower is a beautiful addition to any garden.

6. Primula Vulgaris

Known for its long flowering period, this plant can flower as early as December. Wonderfully, too, the primrose provides a place for butterflies to come and rest.

7. Hemerocallis ‘Burning Daylight’

This glowing orange plant has large ruffled flowers that open most mornings and wither at night. A flower on the same stem can replace them the next day, so you'll be sure to see it constantly blooming.

I like these plants, but one problem is that they all seems to be a similar style of plants, all flower-like (besides the first one). I was hoping to find a larger variety of plants maybe some that were more alien-like, some vines, some fungi possibly. From this, i decided to search "alien-like plants" and came across things that were more my original thoughts

These plants i really enjoy the look of. They all give off that alien-like post apocalyptic world type plant i will defiantly aim to try and make something similar to one of these but maybe with a twist on it.

[door]

some good portland flowers

[ofbeautsandbeasts]

Mediterranean Spurge (Euphorbia Wulfenii) in San Francisco, CA

[crudlynaturephotos]

[blogbirdfeather]

Mediterranean Spurge - Trovisco-macho (Euphorbia characias)

Sintra/Portugal (23/11/2023)

[Nikon D850; AF 105mm Micro-Nikkor F2,8 with Circular Flash Nissin  MF 18; 1/250s; F16; 400 ISO]

[photosbyjez]

Mediterranean Spurge-- FOTD Aug 29

Hi all 👋 My latest post for Cee’s FOTD. This Euphorbia characias, also known as the Mediterranean Spurge or Albanian Spurge, can be found in the grounds of Culzean Castle. Mediterranean Spurge

[regnum-plantae]

Euphorbia characias, Euphorbiaceae

A few days ago I wrote about the variegated version of the Mediterranean spurge, an Euphorbia which does particularly well in dry soils prone to drought and with little attention, two abilities developed to thrive in its native habitat and which have gained it attention within the ornamental market. 

At Glasgow Botanic Gardens, right after some winter rain and in bloom, this spurge rivaled its variegated counterparts in attractiveness. Looks are not all though, and it’s important to note this species is a really good source of nectar, and one of the few flowering so profusely and early in the year at the gardens, although generally flowering more in spring. In particular, the Mediterranean spurge attracts some species of Diptera and Hymenoptera, with ants playing an important part in seed dispersal.   

The link below takes you to a Royal Horticultural Society list of plants beneficial to pollinators, divided by flowering season and month, which can help plan a wildlife friendly garden and attract more of those welcomed visitors to boost your food production.

RHS Perfect for Pollinators plant list

[sydenhamtouristboard]

Euphorbia Mediterranean spurge. Dramatic feature plant with long stems. April / May stems carry huge head of lime-green flowers. Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii #Euphorbia #Mediterranean #spurge #Dramatic #feature #plant #with #long #stems. #April #/ #May #stems #carry #huge #head #of #lime #green #flowers #characias #subspecies #subsp #wulfenii #penge #se20 #plantlife #sydenhamphotos #penge #se20     https://www.instagram.com/p/B_JpfXiH7il/?igshid=40cevsaoalzs

[dansnaturepictures]

Round up of my wild week 25th March-1st April 2023

It’s been a great week of watching birds as we go into spring, with my first Wheatears of the year at Farlington Marshes last Saturday, my first Sand Martins of the year at Blashford Lakes last Sunday followed by my earliest ever sighting of House Martins in a year at Lakeside Country Park on Tuesday. A very pleasing sighting of a neat and exciting Water Pipit at Farlington Marshes was another key part of a good run of year ticks to take my year list to 160 on my earliest ever date, my year list still way ahead of where I was on these dates in previous years. Immersive Brent Geese sightings, brief and stunning Short-eared Owl view, Marsh Harrier and notable Mediterranean Gull a bird I am on a good run for and Avocet numbers at Farlington Marshes, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Scaup, Goldeneye and Siskin at Blashford Lakes, Tufted Duck, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Green Woodpecker, Great Crested Grebes, Buzzard and Red Kite at Lakeside across the week, Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the green out the front on Friday and Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Grey Wagtail, Blackbird in a nice period of seeing them I’m having and Mute Swan in Winchester were other highlights this week. 

Mallard at Lakeside on Tuesday, I got a lot of close views of them this week. 

Grey Wagtail by the River Itchen in Winchester on Thursday, the key bird of the lunch breaks of my Winchester part of the working week. 

It has been nice to enjoy winter wildfowl around alongside the spring birds starting to arrive, something I love at coastal marshy sites this time of year and this Shoveler was one of a pair I thoroughly enjoyed seeing at Farlington. 

As I said in yesterday evening’s post, yesterday we had a fantastic time at Hampshire Ornithological Society (HOS)’s AGM and Member’s Day, it was so good to hear about the varied and important work of HOS, with engrossing talks from inspiring speakers David Lindo, James Aldred, Beccy Speight, Juliet Vickery and John Clark on a range of topics. It was great to hear all of their passion first hand and hearing the amazing work of their organisations the RSPB and BTO from Beccy and Juliet was interesting, honest and reassuring. It was good to meet/see some familiar faces too, and we even saw a Red Kite flying over the field at the school that hosted the day with Black-headed and Herring Gulls seen too. A really feel good, enjoyable and informative day.

This week has been a massive one in my flower year, with many important moments seeing my first or one of my first of the species this year for species like Alexander’s, marsh marigold, cow parsley, herb-Robert, ivy-leaved toadflax, bluebell, and three-cornered leek. It has been an amazing week for seeing snake’s-head fritillaries and cowslips with so many of these vibrant springtime beauties seen, and loads of red deadnettle, speedwell, spurge, snowflakes, violets, lesser celandine and some wild daffodils at Blashford Lakes were other particular standouts. Blackthorn and other blossom, buds and green leaves in the landscape, and flowers like tulips at home coming out have added to the colourful awakening mood of the week with a few insects seen again. In a fairly wet week - the rain feels like something we could be thankful for later on though if we have another summer like last year’s - this all made me feel so uplifted and springlike. It was good to see turkey tail and scarlet elf cup fungi - which I’ve had great winters for - at Blashford Lakes. 

Three-cornered leek at Lakeside on Friday evening.

View at Lakeside on what has been a moody week for sky scenes in places.

Beautiful blossom in Winchester on Thursday. 

I have enjoyed doing these round up posts at the weekend the last month and a bit, and just thought I would say because of a very exciting trip we have coming up from Friday onwards which I will mention in due course I don’t think I’ll be doing a post like this which covers today-Thursday, but as ever my daily posts this week will have key points/sightings.