Mediterranean Spurge

Euphorbia characias, the Mediterranean Spurge, is a flowering plant of the Euphorbiaceae family typical of the Mediterranean vegetation.

There are two main subspecies that are found in different regions of the Mediterranean Basin. These often overlap in the western areas of distribution:

* Euphorbia characias subsp. characias. From Portugal to Crete.

* Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii. From Southern France to Anatolia.

It grows in the form of a shrub or bush with many stems and characteristic black or dark brown nectar glands in the cyathia. The fruits are smooth capsules. It is a tough perennial plant, capable of resisting long periods of drought. It grows preferably in dry areas, often far away from the freatic sheet, both in flat as well as in mountaineous terrain. This plant can also resist high salinity.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_characias - 28.09.2011