Nice write-up and fantastic pics! I love this plant....
You might enjoy this site....Frank is the Euphorbia GOD!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: EVERYTHING Euphorbia

Thanks for the lesson & pics. Euphorbias Rock!
Tally HO!

Wow that was really informative. Thank you for that post! I really enjoyed it. I have yet to become a fan of the Euphorbias because of their toxic sap. Not a big fan of allergic reactions :)

Steve

The sap thing is way overstated, at least from my experience. I have over 200 Euphorbias and only when I go out of my way to hack off branches does the sap issue become an issue at all. To me it is sticky only... unless I get it in my eye. Never had much more of a reaction than that (save Euphorbia tirucalli which seems to be a tad more irritating)... never heard too many people make the same complaints about the sap in Plumeria circles, and is basically the exact same stuff... I did a lot more pruning when I had plumeria so the sap issue was a lot bigger deal for me then than now, now that I have pretty much killed off all my Plumeria. Lots of other plants have nasty saps (Jatrophas, Synadeniums, Oleandar, even some Aloes and cacti)- some irritating, as well as incredibly staining saps. My main issue with the saps is they gum up my pruners. But my blue cedar does that even more so.

Thanks all for the kind words!

johnh_or, Frank Vincentz's site is a great reference. But it hasn't been updated since 2006, nor does he post any more...I hope he's okay!

I'm with lzrddr, have never had an adverse reaction to Euphorbia sap, although I've never gotten it in my eye...that sounds painful!

Cheers,
-R

That was a terrific lesson, Are you near So. Calif. travel time of no more then 40 minutes? If so do you give programs? My group is looking for speakers, of course you will be paid. Norma

I know this is an old post, but I just wanted to compliment and thank you! I love euphorbias, and was very curious about what united this expansive genus - you really explained it better than any other site or book I could find!

Thank you!

Thx WW, your kind words are very much appreciated.

GO Euphorbias! :)

-R

Awesome! Very informative! I have only a few of these. I have avoided euphorbias partly because of the sap, mostly because they're not as easy to cultivate as other succulents. Any tips on propagation would be appreciated. I will check out those sites listed above.
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Excellent lesson!!! I am not all that interested in Euphorbias, but always love to learn, this was very informative. Reminds me that the last botany class I took did not even cover Cactaceae. :(
Thanks, Jenna

"I have avoided euphorbias partly because of the sap, mostly because they're not as easy to cultivate as other succulents."

I've actually found Euphorbias to be a loooooot easier than cacti. This might sound weird but I feel like they give you better feedback when they're not happy, whereas cacti have a weird tendency to look fine up until they collapse.

Also having looked at this again I think the E. Nyassae I have is either a Godana or has some Godana DNA in it. Because while it looks more or less LIKE anE. Nyassae, it has the growing habit and flowers of a Godana. Except they're coming out of where they would as per a Nyassae.

I need to get pictures uploaded. That greenhouse had a lot of weird plants that I've never been able to properly identify.

"never heard too many people make the same complaints about the sap in Plumeria circles, and is basically the exact same stuff..."

Aren't Plumerias supposed to have worse sap, being closely related to Oleanders?

First I want to thank you on the lesson you posted information that I didn't know, I didn't know that both the male and female parts can be on the same plant. I have to give some of my Plumeria plants away because I have allery problens. I kept only a few of this species. I find them easy to pollinate by hand. I have problems of gathering the seed. Norma

>I've actually found Euphorbias to be a loooooot easier than cacti.

For me, some (globulars/medusoids) are easy, but others (mostly the shrubby ones) are hard. The problem I have with the shrubby species is keeping them over the winter. I grow increasingly convinced that they need a lot of water, at least once every two weeks.

amccour, not sure about E. nyassae vs. E. godana. The editors of the Euphorbia Journal say that they've never seen E. nyassae in cultivation. In any case, it should be easy to tell apart from E. godana:

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This is E. nyassae in habitat (from The Euphorbia Journal):

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Norma, thanks for your kind comment.

Another way of looking at the Euphorbias is that they're either monoecious (from the Greek "one house"...meaning a single plant will produce cyathia with both male and female flowers) or dioecious ("two houses"...a single plant will produce either male or female flowers).

One more factoid :) The shrubby species are all monoecious, and don't hybridize. The globular species (for example, E. obesa) are all dioecious, and are tramps, hybridizing with anything they can find. :)

-R

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It's this thing.

Which in retrospect doesn't really look much like a Nyassae OR a Godana.

Agreed, it doesn't look like either.

To me, it looks like one from the E. schinzii complex, maybe E. uhligiana (although it doesn't seem to have a caudex) or something close to that.

Nice spine shields!

-R