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Euphorbia species
It is extraordinary how many Euphorbia there are and how
much
they differ from each other. The only way to know they
are related
is by the flowers.
Here is a photo of the tiny ground cover. The leaves are
very small
in dry weather and much larger(in comparison) in easy
conditions.
I added my finger tip for scale.
It was only recently that I found out that this old
favorite ground
cover was in fact an Euphorbia!
Never forget that the milky sap or latex of
the Euphorbia plant
is highly toxic. Especially in the eyes. There is one
very fierce
large tree size Euphorbia in the northern parts of South
Africa
where it is dangerous in habitat where those large
plants grow
to walk downwind when they are in bloom. Your eyes will
start
burning and you better cover the eyes and nose with a
piece of
cloth quickly.
Surprisingly the bees and butterflies love the flowers !
There are animals - even domestic cattle - that eat some
of the
Euphorbia species. This is life saving for the animals
in
Namaqualand and the Karoo.
I would like an assortment Euphorbia between the aloe
plants but most of the pretty or odd ones are rather
difficult
plants out of their habitat.
Note the decorations on the wings of the little
butterflies. It looks like
feelers. This will fool a bird and save the
butterfly as the bird will only
have a piece of wing in his beak.
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