Euphorbia Species, Desert Candle

Hello

I have been growing this plant for about 7 years now in Seattle. Keep it out of direct summer sun as sunburn will oc...Read Morecor. They are fast growing. I started out with a clump of 4 plants under 2" tall and now after seperating they range from 4' to 6' tall. A wonderful house plant ( at least in the NW ) grows indoors year round with houselight and warmth. Dosent appear to like
Cactus Juice brand fertilizer. I usually get leaves around Easter and the trick is to keep them for the summer.
Dennis

This plant has been a struggle for me to identify clearly for many years as it has not been well described anywhere that I can fi...Read Morend, and photos of it conflict greatly in the literature and on the web. Additionally, the synonym E acurensis is also problematic as plants sold as this in nurseries (and this is a very common situation) do NOT match the 'current understanding' of what Aloe abyssinica looks like. I am still not 100% sure, but from photos displayed of E abyssinica plant in Euphorbia Journal, I am think I finally have the puzzle worked out... would appreciate any confirmation or arguments otherwise. Thank you.

Euphorbia abyssinica, as far as I understand it today (jan 2011) is a candellabra-like plant (single stem with many upright, relatively parallel branches) of dark green coloration and somewhat 'wavy' ridges of vertical 'fins', usually over 4 in number, and usually 6 or 7 (maybe more). This number of ridges distinguishes this plant from the more commonly seen candelbra-like Euphorbias commonly encountered in cultivation such as E ammak (4-5 fins.. usually 4), E ingens (4-5 fins, again, usually 4) and E 'acurensis-nursery trade) with 3-4 fins. All other Euphorbias of this general shape are either much smaller in diameter (such as E trigona, lactea, etc.), rarer, or have different spines. The wavy ridges distinguish E abyssinica from all other large Euphorbias except E ammak, which can also have wavy ridges. This is in contrast to species like E grandicornis which have massive spines and greatly exaggerated ridges (if you can even call them that). At this time, most of the photos on this page are NOT E abyssinica, but I am hoping with some discussion with the Davesgarden administration staff I can remedy that.

Like all Euphorbia HANDLE WITH CARE, the latex/sap is dangerous and can cause skin rash, itching and general discomfort.