Euphorbia corollata - Spurge

Euphorbia corollata, also known as the Flowering Spurge, will charm with its elegant summer flowers presented in wide and ramified false umbels that bear at their tip a multitude of small pure white flowers with a greenish centre. This plant forms an upright tuft that is not very tall, with ramified stems that bear small green leaves that turn a beautiful bright orange-red in autumn. Plant this Euphorbia in full sun, in a well-drained bed, an exotic rockery, a dry garden, with other large cushion-forming plants, small grasses or groundcover plants. Planting in groups is preferable for a remarkable bushy and flowering effect.

Euphorbia corollata belongs to the vast family of Euphorbiaceae. It is an endemic species of southern Canada and central and eastern areas of the United States where it grows in meadows and pastures. This perennial develops into an upright tuft reaching 1 m (3ft) in height and 50 cm (20in) in width, with dense and ramified vegetation. The young vertical and reddish cylindrical stems bear small deciduous leaves arranged along the stem. They are small in size, linear, tapering to a point, green in colour, and turn a beautiful bright orange-red in autumn. The flowers gathered in false umbels appear from July to September at the end of the leaf-covered stems: A multitude of small flowers with a pure white corolla and a greenish centre. The stems and leaves contain a milky juice that is sticky and toxic.

Euphorbia corollata, with its beautiful summer flowers, will find its place in a dry and sunny rockery, on a wild slope in a large exotic bed, in a minimalist or contemporary style garden, but always in well-drained soil. It is preferably grown in groups of several plants to form a very floriferous small bush, resembling a large clump as a single plant appears rather ungainly and without much ornamental interest. It can be associated, for example, with blue grasses (Elymus magellanicus, Blue Fescue Elijah Blue), and shrubby salvias with blue flowers. On a dry slope or in a rockery, it will accompany lavender, thyme, cistus, and other rosemary plants.