Euphorbia misera
Encyclopedia
Euphorbia misera is a species of spurge
known by the common name cliff spurge. It is native to southern California
and Baja California
, where it is known from the Sonoran Desert
and the coastline, including the Channel Islands of California
. This is a shrub
standing erect and reaching one half to one meter in height. It has small, rounded, hairy leaves and inflorescence
s at the tips of the branches. The distinctive flower is hairy and glandular and has a central nectar disc with a bright red appendage with scalloped edges and a light yellow fringe. The style
in the pistillate flower extends outward and is divided at the tip. The anther
s are bright yellow. The fruit is a spherical capsule with lobes containing round, wrinkled gray seeds.
Spurge
Euphorbia is a genus of plants belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae. Consisting of 2008 species, Euphorbia is one of the most diverse genera in the plant kingdom, exceeded possibly only by Senecio. Members of the family and genus are sometimes referred to as Spurges...
known by the common name cliff spurge. It is native to southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it is known from the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
and the coastline, including the Channel Islands of California
Channel Islands of California
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
. This is a shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
standing erect and reaching one half to one meter in height. It has small, rounded, hairy leaves and inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s at the tips of the branches. The distinctive flower is hairy and glandular and has a central nectar disc with a bright red appendage with scalloped edges and a light yellow fringe. The style
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
in the pistillate flower extends outward and is divided at the tip. The anther
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s are bright yellow. The fruit is a spherical capsule with lobes containing round, wrinkled gray seeds.