Euphorbia lignosa
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Full name: | Euphorbia lignosa Marloth |
| Location: | Next to C13 between Rosh Pinah and Aus (2716DB) |
| ID status: | Fairly certain |
| Afrikaans common name(s): | Gifmelkbos |
| English common name(s): | Pencil milkbush, Woody euphorbia |
| Synonym(s): | - |
| Status: | Near-endemic |
| Description: | A dwarf densely much-branched bush, forming a hemispheric cushion up to 3 ft. in diam., and 0.5–1 ft. high; main stem very stout, somewhat globose at the crown from which the branches arise, descending as a thick carrot-shaped root; main branches very numerous, repeatedly divided into short alternate spine-like or sharp-pointed branchlets, soft and succulent when young, becoming rigid, glabrous; leaves alternate, only present on very young branches, 1.5–5 lin. long, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate or sometimes obovate, acute, tapering near the base into a short petiole, longitudinally folded, recurved, very minutely puberulous; flowering branches with 1 terminal sessile involucre or with 1 sessile and 1 or 2 lateral involucres on peduncle-like branches 0.333– 0.5 in. long, forming a 2–3-flowered cyme, very minutely puberulous; bracts about 2–2.5 lin. long and 1.5–2 lin. broad, orbicular-obovate and apiculate, or broadly cuneate, subtruncate and minutely toothed, very minutely puberulous on both sides; involucre 3.5–5 lin. in diam., shallowly cup-shaped, very minutely puberulous, with 5 glands and 5 transverse rectangular lobes fringed with numerous subulate teeth along the truncate top; glands obliquely cup-like or funnel-shaped, with 4–9 entire or bifid channelled finger-like processes 0.25– 0.5 lin. long along the outer margin, glabrous in the cavity, very minutely puberulous outside; capsule sessile, erect, with its base embraced by the remains of the involucre, 2.5 lin. in diam., globose, very minutely puberulous; styles 1–1.25 lin. long, united nearly to the top, with 3 spreading bifid arms 0.167– 0.25 lin. long; seeds 1.25 lin. long, ovoid, acute at one end, somewhat 3-angled, smooth, glabrous. (from JSTOR Global Plants website / Flora Capensis) Rigid, distinctly rounded, dense, spiny, succulent shrub, up to 0.5 x 1 m. Branches rigid, pale green, spine-like, tapering sharply to hard point. Inflorescence sessile, bisexual, solitary cyathium or in groups of 2-3. Glands bright yellow-green, cupped, with fringed margin. Flowering winter. Capsule sessile, about 5 mm in diameter, globose, finely velvety, often bright red until mature. This species is often found in rocky habitats such as foothills, where it grows between and over rocks. The striking, hemispherical, rounded, hedgehog-like appearance of this species is unmistakeable, and it would make an attractive subject for rockeries with succulents. It is found in the rocky eastern parts of the area covered by this guide and is common from Seeheirn to Aus, while also thought to occur in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. (from Wildflowers of the southern Namib by Coleen Mannheimer) |
| Link(s) |
African Plant Database
JSTOR Plant Science Kew Herbarium Catalogue BGBM Berlin-Dahlem - Virtual Herbarium Züricher Herbarien iNaturalist (Namibia / Alex Dreyer) iNaturalist (Namibia) iNaturalist (southern Africa) Flora of Zimbabwe Fleurs de notre Terre - Galerie Namibie Tree Atlas of Namibia |
| Photographer: | AA Dreyer |
| Date of photograph: | 20 Feb 2018 |
| Camera make: | Canon |
| Camera model: | EOS 7D |
| Lens aperture: | f/9.0 |
| Shutter speed: | 1/160 s |
| ISO speed: | 100 |
| Content last updated: | 18 Apr 2024 |
