Euphorbia milii

Crown of Thorns

Scientific name  :  Euphorbia milii

Family    :  Euphorbiaceae

It is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants commonly called spurge.

it has a  range from tiny annual plants  to large and long-lived trees.

 The genus has roughly 2,000 members making it one of the largest genera of flowering plants 

The plants are annual , biennial or perennial herbs, woody shrubs, or trees with a caustic, poisonous milky latex 

Flower Description:

Flower bloom time depends on the plant location. When grown in tropical or sub-tropical conditions, blooms occur throughout the year, but especially in Spring and Summer. In warm southern climates, blooms usually occur in winter and spring. When grown as a houseplant, it will bloom from late winter well into fall. Green flowers are subtended by red or yellow showy paired bracts in cymes on long peduncles up to 2 inches. Several miniscule unisexual cyathia, enclosed in a 5-lobed involucre, bear glands and are subtended by a showy pair of bracts. The bracts are ovate, red, salmon or yellow, and about 1/3 of an inch.

Leaf Description:

Evergreen with few, smooth-margined leaves with wedge-shaped bases, produced on new stem growth. Leaves are non-succulent and about 2 inches long. Variegated cultivars exist on the market.