For those of you who are not
familiar with the Euphorbia family, their most famous relative is the
Poinsettia (Poin-Set tia) which was
re-named from one of the first Europeans to promote it as linked to Christmas.
His name was Joel Robert Poinsett (1770-1851) who was the U.S.s ambassador to
Mexico after Mexico gained independence from Spain. What’s interesting is that
in prior discussions of Euphoribas on this blog, I had not yet found any
localized original names for the Poinsettia. As it turns out in Mexico it is called
Nochebuena and its Nahuatl (Aztec Dialect) name roughly translates to flor
que se marchita which
roughly means ‘The flower that wilts’ which is a spot-on description of how
poinsettias are terrible for cut arrangements because they don’t last. Now of course
I Am sure you are very familiar with the common poinsettia which is pictured
below.
Euphorbia pulcherrima
Hybridization,
however has produced many unique colors and forms so, there are speckled
leaves, green-white variegated leaf forms and a range of solid colors from
white to the red color seen above. If you walk through a poinsettia grower’s
green house in late November, you are going to see a show that guarantees that
your holiday spirit won’t be flagging. In December of 2017, I introduced
Fayatteville to the dwarf poinsettia known as ‘Winter Rose Red’ which was up
until then fairly rare in the area. These plants sold like they were plated in
gold at LeClair’s General Store.
Euphorbia pulcherrima ‘Winter Rose Red’
But
the Euphorbia train does not stop there as In this blog I did previously
document the existence of a ‘weed’ variety of poinsettia commonly called ‘Fire
on the Mountain’ for it’s Pink-orange to orange-red partial coloration. Some
times these guys spring up in the woods at the headquarters and honestly they’re
well-behaved for ‘weeds’ so I leave them alone.
Euphorbia cyathophora ‘Fire on the
Mountain’
But
of course, we can’t really discuss the Euphorbia without getting into
houseplants because in our climate as much as we want to compare it to the Mediterranean,
a lot of Euphorbias hail from Africa and that is a very different climate than
North Carolina. So first up is a subdued cactus-like member of the family; the
Tanzanian Zipper Plant. Now I can guess what you are thinking, ‘wow is that
even related?’ well yes if you injure the plant the same white latex sap will
come bubbling out as part of a biological defense. The latex defense has
evolved to make the plant unpalatable to grazing animals and is also intended
to entrap and strangle insect pests if not outright poison them. While milky
sap is not a sure indicator that a plant is in the Euphorbia family since a
number of common plants in the garden also have this trait*. Tanzanian zipper
plants are grown with the same care standards as true Cactus, water
infrequently, avoid using fertilizer, and as much sun as is possible but avoid
true full sun.
Euphorbia anoplia – Tanzanian
Zipper Plant
Next on the list is a plant that was
definitely covered in the last discussion, Devil’s Back Bone. I’ve been a fan
of this this plant for years because it’s colorful without needing to have
flowers and its shape is completely at odds with the local Carolinian norms of
house plants. The stems zigzag at about 45-degree angles on average and while
there are a number of hybrids, the leaves typically have shades of yellow, red,
pink and some times chartreuse-shades of green. It also is one of the easiest
to care for of the Euphorbia clan and in some places, it’s used as a
bio-remediation plant. If that’s not good enough, there is some scientific
studies ongoing into using it as a source of bio-fuel. Honestly, owning one of
these guys kind of feels like a win for the sustainability and ecology movement
because it’s proliferation may just pave the way towards a cleaner environment
in the future. Also, occasionally you may find Devil’s Back Bone under the name
Pedilanthus tithymaloides in the
plant trade.
Euphorbia tithymaloides – Devil’s Back
Bone
Long time readers of this blog knew
eventually that this particular Euphorbia was coming. For those who are new, I’d
like to introduce you to the oldest Euphorbia in the collection and the second
oldest plant in the collection outright (A monstrose cactus in the last blog
post is the oldest plant in the collection.). Some might think that this plant
is strange, or more so that my habit of decorating it in lieu of a Christmas
tree every year is stranger. I say to you, why cut down and kill a perfectly
good conifer when you can decorate a living something so that the holidays and
the new year are not celebrated with the unnecessary death of a living thing. This
member of the Euphorbia family is commonly called Pencil cactus because it’s
green-yellow stems roughly resemble a traditional number 2 pencil. It does produce
a few tiny leaves which may be an evolutionary hold over from whatever it’s
precursors must have looked like. As far as succulents go, it barely needs to
be watered once it’s established in the pot you’ve chosen for it. In the winter
this specimen gets watered maybe once every two weeks and that is only because
it is right over a heat vent. In the summer if I put it on the porch it might
bet watered by rain or dew a little bit and then by me maybe once a month. I
only give it thin fertilizer during the growing period if at all and yet since
2008, it has grown from a 3” pot to a 14” that has to be moved about on a drip
tray with casters. In use in the home it’s essentially an architecture plant it’s
all about form and produces very little leaf litter. It grows slowly enough
that it might be mistaken for being plastic. Fortunately for you, in this blog’s
archives you will see pictures of this plant over the years and find that yes,
it’s definitely alive and growing, just super slowly.
 |
| In full Christmas bling...yes it lights up. |
Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Fire Sticks’ –
Pencil Cactus
The Crown of thorns is a holiday
plant that is tied to the crown of thorns placed upon Jesus’s head when he was
crucified so it has more ties to Easter than its cousin’s ties to Christmas.
Unlike Poinsettias, Crown of thorn has tan or brown colored waxy stems that are
bracketed by large thorns that look imposing but are easily avoided by a savvy
gardener. It is a euphorbia that produces oval shaped leaves that in some hybrids
can be quite large. The real draw for this plant is when it blooms because near
the growing tips of the plant, it’s flowers and the colorful bracts (typically
red) emerge horizontally in a ring which symbolizes the blood shed when the
crown of thorns was set on Jesus’s head. Fortunately for all you gardeners who
aren’t into the Theology of plants there are versions of Crown of Thorns with
bright variegated foliage, and a number of bloom colors other than red. As a
plant for your collection Crown of Thorns doesn’t ask for much, but will
require photoperiodism or exposure to the increasing and decreasing amounts of available
sunlight as the seasons change to get a plant to bloom. Photoperiodism is used
in a number of plants such as Christmas cacti (schlumbergia), Poinsettias and Carnations.
Euphorbia milii – Crown of Thorns
If it walks the walk and talks the
talk then it’s got to be a cactus, right? The Cathedral Cactus literally looks
like it should be growing in the southwest of the United States right next to a
Saguaro Cactus and some random prickly pears. Unknowing gardeners and
collectors look at it and assume it must be some kind of crazy cactus and it’s
true that it is a succulent however, when you look at one of it’s common names ‘African
Milk Bush’ you realize that looks can fool you. In reality the Cathedral Cactus
is actually another member of the Euphorbia family and if you injure it all
that tell-tale milky sap will come oozing out. Another way to tell this isn’t a
cactus is that at certain times of the year a Cathedral cactus may have rows of
tiny leaves sticking out of the ribs in it’s stems. The presence of leaves is a
dead-giveaway because very few true cacti have actual leaves in the normal
botanical sense. As far as use for a houseplant is concerned, the Cathedral Cactus
is very slow growing, and tends to have a shallow root system which can be a
problem if it’s disturbed regularly. Single stem specimens like the one below
may require additional staking and counter weights to keep from tipping over.
Some times hiding the plant in a larger pot (this is called sleeving) can help. Over time cathedral cactuses can
get incredibly tall and would benefit from taking cuttings to reduce height
every few years. Supposedly, in Cuba, these plants get big enough to flower and
produce fruit. I should note that for a brief period in the mid-late summer of
2017 Cathedral Cacti were all the rage at LeClair’s General store in
Fayetteville NC. If you missed out, there is now one specimen in the store as
of this writing.
 |
| Leave it to the photobombing pencil cactus... |
Euphorbia trigona – Cathedral
Cactus
While the specimen pictured below
was covered in my last post since it is a monstrose form succulent, it also has
to be covered here because it is a member of the Euphorbia family. As noted in
the prior post monstrose form succulents and cacti differ from their normal kin
due to the fact that all of their growing tips for reasons unknown are active
at the same time. This causes warped and distorted growth that is completely abnormal
for the species in question. Monstrose form succulents and cacti can revert,
when a plant reverts it goes back to it’s original state so it isn’t uncommon
to have a monstrose form cactus suddenly have one or two branches that suddenly
are normal on top of a crazy undulating mess. In the landscape we know
reversion slightly differently; it is when a shrub that was variegated suddenly
goes back to plain green in part or in whole. Now normally in such a situation
we would prune out the reverted green parts because they would overtake the
rest and eventually make the shrub pure green. In the case of a monstrose
cactus or succulent, where possible we could prune out the portion of growth
that has reverted because it would assume the role of being a dominant growing
tip and the rest of the plant would stop growing. The monstrose Candelabra
cactus was a bit hit in 2017 over at the general store because it was so
strange and unusual. It is after all a succulent that looks like some form of
spineless cactus that requires minimal care. When things were said and done, I ended
up with an unsold specimen potted in my office. The one thing I have to say you
should never do with a candelabra cactus is to expose it to freezing
temperatures and if you must fertilize do so in late spring and summer with a
thin fertilizer that is low on nitrogen.
Euphorbia lactea ‘ Cristata’ –
Monstrose Candelabra Cactus
This Euphorbia is a recent addition
to the collection. I saw a few of them in the back of a growing tray at a
nursery while looking for something else. At first, I thought they were
miniature Pachypodium geayi aka Madagascar
Palm, which is a succulent I’ve been looking for locally, for several years. The
plant pictured below is known as Monadenium,
which is an older scientific first name for the grouping of plants that are now
identified by the first name Euphorbia. Books that were published as late as
2004 still may list these succulents as monidenium
when their name has been as far as I know changed to Euphorbia with the same
secondary scientific last name. To make the matter worse I found out that
Euphorbia ritchiei is also known as Monidenium
ritchiei and Monadenium heteropodium.
It also has a cousin named Euphorbia/Mondenium
guentheri which is visually very similar, with some photo references I
discovered I had misidentified this plant, thinking it ritchiei for a few months. I ended up buying one of these plants
because I had one in the original succulent & cactus collection in NJ, but
it suffered a terrible case of root rot in the winter and could not be saved.
Overall if you have the fortune to find this plant, it’s a good low-care
addition to your collection, and since it’s a Euphorbia the same rules apply to
it as you would apply to any other houseplant Euphorbia. The down side to this
plant is that it does not tolerate overwatering or prolonged periods of cold
below 40 degrees. It also needs a bright window, preferably afternoon sun
facing if possible. It will reward you with unique blooms and knobbed stems
that have no rival for form in the rest of the family.
Euphorbia guentheri - [no common name]
Although
this week’s look into the diversity of the Euphorbia family may have been a bit
on the long side, this article isn’t quite done yet. That’s right folks this is
where the advertising starts because it keeps the lights on. As always barring
terribly wet and cold weather or illness I still manage a vendor’s space at the
Fayetteville City Market at 325 Maxwell street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on
Saturdays. I sell four things primarily during the winter months and they are:
Soup
Kits - $6.00
Seasoning
Packets – $2.00
Whole
Garlic – $1.00
Fresh
Organic Ginger - $1.00
Also,
I will be bringing a number of random house plants every week if weather
permits and While the assortment is purely random, there is not a thing for
sale that is above $8.00.
If
the market isn’t your thing or your schedule does not allow you to go there my
premium exotic house plants can be purchased in attractive clay pots with
unique embellishments at LeClair’s General Store. LeClair’s General Store is
located on 1212 Fort Bragg Road in Fayetteville North Carolina.
This
is their Facebook Page:
The
Visit NC page’s Listing:
Now
I am generally at the store at least twice a week, maintaining stock and/or
delivering new materials so if you go to visit the store there is a fair chance
I’ll be present to answer your questions. If not, you can always send me
questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to
what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.
Lastly this bring to a close the
first LITFM post of the new year, I know it was a bit late but don’t let that
deter you from coming back as the next post will be about one of the toughest
house plants known, the Snake Plant. Check back with us and hopefully I’ll see
you at the General store or the market.
*Some common garden plants with the latex
sap trait include, the Milkweed family, the Mulberry family, the Dogbane
family, Lettuces, and Chicory.
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