Euphorbiaceae Archives - Page 3 of 6

Euph stapelioides

These peculiar little plants occur in the northwest corner of the Richtersveld (Oranjemund to Koekenaap), where they form rather dense mats.
They have tuberous roots and tough and fibrous aerial stems, which are more or less terete, 30-100 mm long and 2-5 mm in diameter. The stems do not stick out more than a few cm above ground, as a result of the continuously blowing sand-blasting winds; they are protected by a thick leathery skin.
The flowers appear from April through September and are usually yellow-green (Williamson in his Richtersveld book gives the colour as mainly chocolate to orange-brown).

Euphorbia atroflora

Similar to, but taller and more impressive than, E. tescorum, this species occurs in the hilly region south of Lake Turkana in Kenya on rocky slopes with open bushland between 900 and 1800 m.
The plants grow into sturdy shrubs up to 2.5 m tall, with many 2-3 cm wide branches. These have 4-5, sometimes 6, angles; uniformly green or sometimes with somewhat darker blotches around the spine-shields; slightly constricted every 10-20 cm. The strong spines are to 1 cm long.
The name (with dark flowers) refers to the crimson cyathia; the fruits are almost black.

The pictures were taken about halfway between Baragoi and South Horr on 23 Sept 2015. Altitude about 1440m.
The first picture shows a healthy stand of Euph. magnicapsula ssp. lacertosa in the background.

Euphorbia tescorum

East Africa harbours several shrubby, spiny Euphorbia species which are often difficult to tell apart.
The species shown here occurs in northern Kenya and adjacent areas in Uganda and Ethiopia in very open bushland (often on lava) at altitudes between 400 and 1500 m.
The plants are mainly branched from the base and are up to 1.5 m(sometimes 2 m) tall. They have branches with 4-8 (usually 5-6) angles, up to 4 cm thick but somewhat constricted every 10-30 cm, usually with darker markings around the teeth.

Pictures 1 and 3 were taken last September south of Mt. Kulal on the eastern side of Lake Turkana in Kenya. The other two are scans from slides made in 1990 west of the lake.

Euphorbia kalisana (part 2 of 2)

The last photo depicts a seedling in cultivation (a scan from an old slide). The little plant shows the transitional phase between forming pairs of spines and single spines.

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Euphorbia kalisana (part 1 of 2)

The name kalisana has its origin in Swahili and means very fierce. This is indeed the first impression the plants convey. At the same time they are peculiarly beautiful with their colourful stems and often almost white spinescence .
The plant’s roots are thick and fleshy and give rise to a stem up to 7.5 cm high and 20 cm in diameter, its top usually more or less at ground-level. Its sprawling branches are up 1 m long and to 2 cm thick, with very robust, to 7 cm long spines.

One can find the plants in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia on gravelly soil (often lava) at an altitude between 100 and 100o m.
The pictures were taken south and north of Mt. Kulal, at altitudes between 485 and 925 m. The plants from this very arid area are usually larger and more robust than those from the lower altitude plains further east.
The first picture gives an impression of one of these desolate places between Loiyangalani and North Horr.

Euphorbia muricata

E. muricata belongs to a group of spineless, shrubby Euphorbias which are often difficult to tell apart. This species however, is distinctive because of the rough surface of the branches.
The plants reach a height of up to 60 cm and occur from the Knersvlakte to Calvinia on gentle slopes and loamy flats.
Photos taken on the Knersvlakte 1 Sept. 2010.

Euphorbia muricata

Euphorbia ballyi (2)

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Euphorbia ballyi (1)

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This little known species has a limited distribution on exposed south-facing limestone slopes and gravelly plains with sparse scrub in the Sanaag region of eastern Somaliland at an altitude of 1350-2000 m.
The plants form compact sturdy shrubs up to 1.5 m high; the branches have 4-6 angled segments 3-4 cm long and 4-7 cm wide, with a continuous horny margin and strong spines to 2.5 cm long.

To be continued.

Euphorbia mauritanica

The name of this species is rather ironic. The plants were introduced into cultivation in Europe in the beginning of the 18th century or maybe even before, and believed to have come from “Mauritania”, a name used at that time for a large portion of northwestern Africa. We now know they do nor occur in that area at all.
On the contrary, the species is widespread in southern Africa, where it is found on flats and stony slopes, sometimes also on coastal dunes. It is a much-branched shrub up to 2 m tall with short-lived leaves. The flowers appear from May to November.
As it is a variable species, a number of varieties have been described in the past, but these are now regarded as ecotypes and their names therefore as synonyms.