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Euphorbia characias
Also called Mediterranean Spurge, Large Mediterranean Spurge
Albanian spurge (Euphorbia characias) is a compact, upright evergreen shrub from the Mediterranean, valued for drought tolerance and its spring flower clusters. Give it full sun and free-draining soil, and keep it away from the milky sap, which irritates skin and eyes.
Euphorbia characias, the Mediterranean spurge is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae typical of the Mediterranean vegetation.
It is an upright, compact evergreen shrub growing to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall and wide.
Euphorbia characias is valued as an ornamental plant for its ability to survive drought and its groundcovering capabilities. It is suitable for any location, sheltered or exposed, in light soil in full sun. It is fully hardy down to −10 °C (14 °F).
This plant also has uses in traditional medicine; like many other species of genus Euphorbia its toxic white and sticky sap has been used to treat skin excrescences, like cancers, tumors, and warts, since ancient times.
Abd Al Kuri Euphorbia · Desert Candle · Greek Spiny Spurge · Euphorbia actinoclada · Miniature Saguaro · Pincushion Euphorbia · Euphorbia alcicornis · Euphorbia alfredii · Euphorbia ambarivatoensis · Euphorbia ambovombensis · African candelabra · Euphorbia ampliphylla
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Euphorbia characias by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
