Euphorbia martinii - Spurge

Euphorbia x martinii is a very beautiful perennial plant, evergreen and bushy, very well adapted to dry and rocky soils. It produces red stems that bear thick, ornamental, grey-green leaves. It is very attractive, especially when its bright yellow-green spring flowering adorned with red nectar glands covers the entire foliage. It will thrive in a sheltered garden, in well-drained soil, in a sunny or semi-shady position in a warm climate.

Euphorbia x Martinii is a shrubby perennial belonging to the large family of Euphorbiaceae. It is a natural hybrid that appeared in the south of France, resulting from the cross between Euphorbia characias and Euphorbia amygdaloides. These two species coexist in nature and originate from the western Mediterranean Basin (Portugal, western Morocco, Turkey) for the former, and from a large part of Europe and Asia Minor for the latter.

This variety grows quite rapidly and reaches a mature size of about 60 cm (24in) in all directions. It has a bushy, compact, and dense habit. The very bright and almost fluorescent flowering occurs in April-May. It is very unique and rare in nature due to the construction of its inflorescences: no petals, but brilliantly colored leaves and bracts to attract insects. In the center of this 'corolla', called cyathium, are the floral organs and four red nectar glands that form a beautiful contrast with the green-yellow bracts. This flowering is so abundant that it completely covers the evergreen foliage, consisting of long gray-green leaves that droop downwards, arranged in whorls along the red stems. The fruiting is a pendulous capsule that explodes to release its ripe seeds far away. The plant secretes a white latex, which is very visible when breaking the stems. This latex is toxic, and it is essential to protect your hands when handling the plant as it can cause skin inflammation.

Plant Euphorbia x martinii in light, poor, moist to dry, and above all, very well-drained soil. It is important to avoid excess moisture in winter, which can greatly affect the hardiness of this plant. A soil rich in gravel yields good results. This large perennial is ideal in dry gardens, rockeries, or on sunny slopes. In this usage, it can be associated with early blue flowering plants, such as 'Corsican Blue' or 'Sappho' rosemary if you live in a region with mild winters, or with Scutellaria altissima, creeping ceanothus, Anemone blanda, or dwarf iris if the winter conditions are harsher. This Euphorbia also adapts very well to the edge of woodland, in partial shade, especially in the south of France.