Image of Wood Spurge

Description:

Slo.: mandljevolistni mleek - Habitat: Stony road side, among bushes; steep, south oriented mountain slope, stony, calcareous ground; full sun, exposed to direct rain, elevation 1.100 m (3.600 feet), average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 3-5 deg C, alpine phytogeographical region. - Substratum: Soil. - Comment: This find was a surprise and initially a puzzle for me. The plant was obviously recognized as Euphorbia, but which one? We have 38 species and subspecies if this genus growing wild in Slovenia. The plant was very big, bigger than any other similar Euphorbia I know from my country. It was about 80 cm tall having many flowering stalks. Habitus of the plant almost resembled Euphorbia wulfenii, a beautiful, large species growing in Mediterranean but not known in Slovenia, which forms large, bright yellow-green 'bushes' sometimes over 1.5 tall. Details of the plant photographed strongly resembled to our very common Euphorbia amygdaloides (probably the most common after Euphorbia cyparissias). But Euphorbia amygdaloides I knew was much smaller. Also it usually grows in beech and other deciduous woods in shady quite moist places that means, in a totally different habitat. I sent the pictures to professionals and they kindly resolved the riddle. It is really Euphorbia amygdaloides but unusually luxuriant and of uncommon habitat. - Ref.: (1) Personal communication with Dr. Igor Dakskobler, Institute Jovan Hadi, SAZU. (2) Rothmaler 3, Exkursionsflora von Deutschland, 11. Aufl., Elsevier, Spectrum (2007), p 207. (3) M.A. Fischer, W. Adler, K. Oswald, Exkursionsflora sterreich Liechtenstein, Sdtirol, LO Landesmuseen, Linz, Austria (2005), p 459. (4) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije, Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (2007) (in Slovene), p 370.