Euphorbia characias subsp. characias - Spurge

The Euphorbia characias ssp. characias, also known as the Mediterranean spurge, is a highly graphic Mediterranean botanical species, perfectly adapted to arid areas, a valuable perennial plant for creating the structure of a dry garden or a large sunny rockery. This evergreen Euphorbia grows in a beautiful rounded clump, with long green-blue leaves turned downwards, forming tight skirts along the stems. Its spring flowering is spectacular, in the form of large cylindrical inflorescences, composed of acid green flowers adorned with reddish-brown nectar glands. Both an accent plant and a structural plant, its astonishing flowering will enhance all the companion plants.

The Euphorbia characias subsp. characias belongs to the large family of Euphorbiaceae. Very close to the Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii, endemic to the eastern Mediterranean (from the South of France to the East of Turkey), this subspecies characias, on the contrary, originates from the western Mediterranean basin (from Portugal to Crete). This tall perennial with numerous stems reaches about 80 cm (32in) in height and 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28in) in diameter, with a fairly rapid growth. From February, in mild climates, large cylindrical inflorescences appear, with the tip unrolling into a crozier, to bloom from March to June. Each 'flower', without petals, is composed of leaves and bracts, forming an acid green cyathium, in the center of which are the brilliantly colored reddish-brown nectar glands, attracting pollinating insects. The stems and leaves contain a milky juice that is sticky and toxic. This camel-like plant can live for more than 20 years and self-seeds spontaneously in light soil.

With about 8000 species, the genus Euphorbia is one of the richest on the planet. Few of them can acclimatize in the garden, but rest assured, there is something to satisfy both the most demanding collector and the amateur who wants to garden without worries with perennial and hardy Euphorbias for shade or sun, cool or hot, dry or wet. You just have to choose wisely. The Euphorbia characias subsp characias is a plant of the heathland that can be planted in a large rockery, on a dry slope or in a well-drained bed with plants that have the same environmental requirements: lavenders, rosemarys, cistuses, asphodels, teucriums or Goniolimon speciosum. The acid green of its flowers blends well with all blue blooms: perennial flax, Sappho rosemary, Globularia alypum, or with the purple foliage of Pennisetum 'Purple majesty', P. 'Vertigo', and tall sedums like 'Black Jak' or 'Chocolate'.