Euphorbia geroldi

Euphorbia geroldi.

When flowering Gerold’s spurge is similar to the thorny Euphorbia milii (Crown of Thorns)
    and is known as the Thornless Crown of Thorns.

They are rounded, semi-succulent much-branched shrubs up to 1 (2) m high.
The woody branches have no spines.

The leaves are alternate in a roughly spiral pattern.
The base of the dark green ovate leaves tapers to a short petiole.
The 2 mm long stipules at the petiole base have a fringed edge.

The shiny, succulent blades are up to 8 cm long and have a very wavy edge.
They have a shiny surface and a narrow red line around the margin.

The branched axillary inflorescences, on peduncles are near the ends of the branches.
Each cyathium has a red bell-shaped involucre with 2 large bright red bracts at the base.
The cyathia are 2 mm across and the round to kidney-shaped bracts are around 2.6 cm.
The shrubs flower for most of the year.

The rim of the involucre has 5 large pale yellowish elliptic nectar glands with slightly depressed centres.

Inside the involucre are about 5 male flowers around a single female one.
The male flowers consist of a stamen with a basifixed bi-lobed anther on a thick filament.
The articulated stamens fall off when their pollen has been released.
Each stamen is surrounded by bracteoles with a hairy upper section.

The female flower has a 3-chambered ovary on a short pedicel.
The bases of the 3 bifid styles are fused for over half their length.
Each style branch has a globular stigma.

The fruit are pale, slightly lobed capsules 3 mm across.

Euphorbia ‘Cotton Candy’, a 1.5 m high hybrid of Euphorbia geroldi and E. robivelonae has bright pink flowers.

J.F.