Plant 15 Euphorbia milii

Crown of Thorns

Description:

Growth Form: A scrambling succulent, containing milky sap, multi-branched with spines all over branches.

Foliage: Leaves simple, alternate, obovate to oblong-oblanceolate, green, margin entire, 1.5 to 5 cm long, 0.8 to 1.8 cm wide, clustered near apical branches; stipules forming spines, 1 to 1.3 cm long; petiole absent or subsessile.

Stems: Stems obscurely 3 to 5 angled, greyish-brown, covered with many prominent grey spines.

Flowers: Inflorescences consist of cuplike clusters of bracts enclosing unisexual flower; each cluster bears 2 bright red (pink, white or yellow in some cultivars), broadly ovate bracts beneath the miniscule flowers, up to 1.5 cm across; male flowers numerous in each inflorescence; female flowers 1 in each inflorescence

Fruits: Fruit capsule 3-lobed-ovoid, 3.5 mm long, 4 mm wide, smooth and glabrous; 1 seed per capsule; Seed ovoid-terete, 2.5 mm long, 2 mm wide, brown, reticulate (net-veined).

Cultivation :
Prefers well-drained soil that can be watered regularly and is moderately salt tolerant. Though very drought tolerant, regular watering will keep it from defoliating and encourages blooming. Prone to botrytis or powdery mildew when water collect on the leaves and flowers. Propagated by tip cuttings, whereby bleeding is stopped and allowed to dry and callus over a few days before inserting into propagation media. Rooting occurs in a few weeks.

Ethnobotanical Uses :
None