Almost a year ago to the day I had to visit Northampton General Hospital and make my way to the eye clinic. I had been pruning a euphorbia, or, to be more precise, Euphorbia myrsintes, Myrtle Spurge. I carelessly got some of the toxic milky sap into my eye but fortunately there was no lasting damage.
I removed one plant completely, gave away three seedlings and pruned the remaining plant hard back. It is now flourishing beside a Cordyline australis.
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Our Myrtle Spurge accompanies a Cordyline Stefen Hill, Daventry.
20 February, 2020
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This sap (actually a latex) is a reminder that Euphorbias are in the same family, the Euphorbiaceae, as the Brazilian Rubber Tree, Hevea brasiliensis.
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The rather acid-yellow flowers provide early garden colour.
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With a few exceptions the euphorbias are instantly recognisable and anyone who has spent much time in the Mediterranean region will have encountered a few specimens. They form one of the largest genera of flowering plants in the world, consisting of over two thousand species, with ten species occurring in Northamptonshire. I generally encounter a few on a summer's walk. Several are agricultural weeds and, although some are garden escapes, E. myrsinites is not one of them - yet. But with climate warming...
The beauty of the plant lies in the contrast between its blue-green leaves and the bright yellow flowers in the form of a cyathium (plural, cyathia) and their equally yellow bracts (eu in Latin means 'beautiful'). The fact that it is a very early flowerer is a bonus. Chris fell in love with the species in the Essex gardens of Beth Chatto and since then we have never been without at least one plant.
But handle with care!
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