SPECIES DESCRIPTION
EUPHORBIA PARALIAS
Family and Genus:- See- EUPHORBIACEAE/Subgen. ESULA/Sect.
Common Names:- Sea spurge
Homotypic Synonyms:- Esula paralias, Euphorbion paralium, Galarhoeus
paralias, Tithymalus paralias.
Meaning:- Euphorbia (L) For Euphorbus, physician to the King of Mauritania.
Paralias (Gr) Seaside, by the beach.
General description:- Glabrous, glaucous, somewhat fleshy, caespitose,
perennial
Stems:-
1) Up to 70 cm. branched from the base, and with 0-9 axillary rays.
Leaves:-
1) Cauline, 3-30 x 2-15 mm, all entire, adaxially concave, imbricate.
a) lowest, obovate-oblong.
b) middle, elliptic-oblong.
c) upper, ovate.
2) Ray-leaves like the upper cauline.
3) Raylet-leaves, suborbicular- more or less rhombic to reniform, strongly adaxially
concave.
Flowers:-
1) Umbels, with 3-6 dichotomous rays.
2) Bracts, oval, concave, green.
3) Glands, reniform, emarginate, with long horns.
Fruit:-
1) Capsule, 3-5 x 4·5-6 mm, deeply sulcate, granulate on the keels.
2) Seeds. 2·5-3·5 mm, broadly ovoid, smooth, pale.
Key features:-
1) Glands, emarginate, with short horns, caruncle minute, conical.
2) Leaves, obovate-oblong to ovate, imbricate, ± succulent.
3) Seeds, smooth.
Habitat:- A typical species of maritime sand. with Calystegia soldanella, Eryngium
maritimum etc.
Distribution:- Throughout Greece. - Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts from
Morocco to the North Sea. Limited distribution around the coastal areas of Crete.
Flowering time:- Mar-Sept.
Photos by:- Fotis Samaritakis
