h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I saw your photos of your Dracunuculus Vulgaris. I've seen that one once, in a private Garden in Hesperia, California.

I recently saw an article on the Rafflesia out of Columbia University founded on gene mapping which showed genetic affinities to the ficus and
the poinsettia. The flower looks rather a ficus floret. An affinity to the poinsettia surprised me, though I do collect poinsettia varieties and have a friend who works as a fig propagator who also does. Last I noticed he attempting fig-papaya crosses with the Mexican papaya.

That is surprising, i would'nt have thought they had any affinity at all
Considering how vast the Euphorbia family is, i suppose anything is possible eh! Poinsettias have to be one of my least favourite plants This is mainly due to handling at least 300 of them at christmas time. They are so tempremental over here, they don't like the cold, which can be a problem overnight. Quite often we will arrive at work to find dropped leaves all over the place. Then theres the watering - too dry they wilt, too wet they rot. Water from the top they get botrytis and the list goes on. I don't mind a challenge, but they are too much for me.

I never had much success with the cultivated poinsettias until I got a few to over winter in a greenhouse. The three I'm growing directly in the ground are all wild exotics, one of which makes a two foot bush, and is a rather typical poinsettia of uncertain derivation, one of which is native to Minnesota and grows only about ten to twelve inches high with white stripes on green leaves, called "snow on the mountain". The third (new), is a shrub native to Mississippi which only looks like a poinsettia its first season and then matures into a woody shrub 12 to 20 feet in height with leaves that resemble those of a poplar. With those and common gopher purge plant (which my gophers think is good to eat and is properly an annual herbaceous euphorbia) I'm going to be attempting some hybrids.

I've got another wild euphorbia on my must collect list, (if the real estate developers don't beat me to it) an inconspicuous, slender stemmed and delicate herb, which grows only about five inches tall and produces two petaled violet and flowers about half an inch across, which somewhat resemble pansies at least in color. That one grows in an exotic terrain which has the KT boundary exposed, in close association with a desert sun dew, which typically grows to only about three to five inches in diameter.

I have a few Euphorbias too. Euphorbia polychroma, which is perennial, it has sulphur yellow bracts, with a tiny yellow flower in the centre of the bracts. Euphorbia Wulfenii, a tall perenial - growing to 3ft or more. It has lime green bracts, with small green flowers. Euphorbia robiea (sp?) An evergreen plant and very invasive. I've tried to get rid of it, but it just keeps coming back Euphorbia blackbird, this is a nice plant, It has dark burgundy leaves, with yellow bracts in Spring. Euphorbia lathyris, this one is an annual; it's common name is Caper Spurge. Finally Euphorbia griffithii-fire glow. I like this perennial, it has large burnt-orange bracts and tiny red flowers - very attractive.

The two Euphorbias I'm best acquainted with are E. Milii and E. Loricata.

The first, called "Crown of Thorns" produces vivid scarlet bracts but can be difficult to live with on account of the thorns. I've never seen the latter flower, but its useful since it produces a latex and hydrocarbon laden sap that can be used for rubber cement direct from the plant.

Plants in the group are of interest to me, since the gophers won't eat them, but they also need to be frost and freezing weather hardy and garden visitor friendly if I'm to set them in the ground.

Found a typo in the immediate above ms.: 2nd paragraph, line 2, "...violet and flowers..." should have read "...violet and yellow flowers..."

I'm familiar with the crown of thorns, it's often grown as a house plant over here. I had one for a long time, but it got so big, i had to get rid of it. I did like the strange two petaled flowers it produced though.

Curiously, this entire thread had disappeared from My Space, which was why I opened a new thread. (lil has also complained of missing emails. Thankfully, they're still up in your space. I'm still taking inventory.)