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Canary Spurge

Euphorbia mellifera

Also called Honey Spurge

Canary Spurge
Photo: H.-U. Küenle, CC BY-SA 3.0

Canary spurge is an evergreen shrub or small tree from Madeira and the Canary Islands, grown for its narrow leaves and honey-scented spring flowers. Give it full sun and well-drained soil, and wear gloves when pruning because its sap irritates skin and eyes.

Family
Euphorbiaceae (Spurge family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water moderately while establishing, then let the soil dry out between waterings.
Soil
Free-draining, sandy or gritty soil.
Temperature
Frost-tender in cold climates; best above 5 °C, protect from hard frost.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: The milky sap is a skin irritant and very harmful to the eyes; all parts of euphorbias contain this sap.
Native range
Madeira, Canary Is.
Climate
subtropical

About

Euphorbia mellifera, the Canary spurge or honey spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae, native to Madeira and the Canary Islands. It is an evergreen shrub or tree growing to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) tall and broad, with narrow leaves up to 20 cm (8 in) long. In spring it produces brown, honey-scented flowers.

The Latin specific epithet mellifera means "producing honey".

Other Euphorbia plants

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 mellifera 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.

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