— 
AN ENCYCLOPADIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 541 
Euphorbia—continued. 
is E. splendens. The last is nearly always, more or less, 
in flower; and, although very ornamental, is not of much 
use, except to remain in the stove. Slow-growing Eu- 
phorbias, which are kept-for the sake of their addition 
to a collection of succulent plants, do not require much 
water, nor a rich soil to grow in. Sandy loam and crushed 
pieces of brick, in nearly equal proportions, form a suitable 
compost. LE. fulgens is a somewhat slender-growing plant, 
and is frequently found rather difficult to establish. It 
succeeds well planted out in the warmest part of a stove, 
and trained up the back wall or on the roof. It has also 
been found to grow and flower profusely in a house with 
Pines, the moisture in summer and drier heat in winter, 
suiting admirably. It is very impatient of root disturb- 
ance, and will not bear sudden changes of temperature 
without losing its leaves. For culture in pots, young 
plants may be raised annually. Cuttings 3in. long are 
best; they should be inserted about June, three in a 
small pot, and kept close in a warm propagating frame 
until rooted. These may be afterwards 
kept growing in heat, and transferred 
bodily into larger pots, without dis- 
turbing the roots. If treated in this 
way, they need not be stopped, and 
the single shoots will consequently be 
much stronger. The plants will not bear 
cold at any time, but will succeed in 
frames during the latter part of summer. 
The flowers are small, produced all along 
the upper part of the shoots in winter, 
so that the ripening of the latter by ex- 
posure to sun, is important. If kept a 
little cooler when in flower, they last a 
long time in beauty, and may be used for 
cutting, although the leaves frequently 
droop very quickly. When flowering is 
over, the plants should be kept quite dry 
and allowed to rest for a period of three 
or four months. As is the case with 
nearly all the species, the beauty of 
E. pulcherrima does not reside so much 
in the flowers as in the bracts with 
which they are surrounded. The system 
of culture is much the same as with the 
species already described, but varies in 
some respects, as the plants are much 
stronger-growing. Any old ones that 
have been resting should be introduced 
to heat about the beginning of June, and, 
if kept watered, will soon supply plenty of cuttings. 
These are best inserted singly in small pots, without 
crocks, in order to preserve the roots afterwards. The 
best summer quarters is on a spent hotbed, where the 
tops can be kept near the glass at all times, being lowered, 
as becomes necessary, by the removal of the manure un- 
derneath. It is advisable to put in several batches of 
cuttings successionally, as plants of various heights may 
then be obtained. The general plan is to grow on young 
ones annually, without stopping, the object being to pro- 
duce a large terminal head of bracts on each. The old 
plants may also be grown if desired. They will not bear 
exposure to a low temperature in autumn, the result being 
invariably the loss of either the roots or leaves. When 
the bracts appear, more heat and some manure water 
may be applied, to expand them, and the plants should 
afterwards be kept a little cooler, to prolong the season 
in which they remain attractive. E. pulcherrima suc- 
ceeds best in a soil composed of one-half turfy loam, the 
remainder being equal parts of dried cow-manure and 
leef soil. Pots 5in. to 7in. in diameter are suitable for 
single plants to flower in. Retaining the foliage in 
good condition throughout the season, is an indication of 
good culture, and one of the main provisions for secur- 
ing the full development of the flower-heads. Sudden 
Euphorbia—continued. 
changes of temperature in either direction must be 
avoided, and the plants exposed to plenty of light and 
full sunshine, except when it is very strong, in summer. 
After flowering, they should be kept quite dry, in a 
warm place, to supply cuttings the next year. 
E. atropurpurea (dark-purple). fl. (= bracts) deep red-purple, 
or blood-coloured, large, broadly oblong, obtuse, combined at 
the base ; involucre small, cup-shaped, red, with four retuse, fleshy 
yellow-green glands at the margin. March. Z. numerous, lanceo- 
late, tapering at the base, obtuse, pale glaucous-green, patent or 
drooping. h. 3ft. to 6ft. Tenerifte. A very pretty greenhouse 
species. (B. M. 3321.) 
E. Cyparissias (Cypress Spurge). fl. yellow, umbellate; in- 
volucral leaves somewhat cordate, about twenty in number, often 
yellow. Spring. J. linear, quite entire, somewhat crowded. A. lft. 
to 2ft. Europe (naturalised in Britain). Hardy. (Sy. En. B. 1262.) 
E. fulgens (shining). Jl., bracts bright orange-scarlet, axillary, 
forming long wreaths. J. bright green, lanceolate. ft. 
Mexico, 1836. Stove. One of the handsomest of winter-flowering 
plants. SyN. E. jacquinieflora. ` (B. M, 5675.) 
E. jacquinizfiora (Jacquinia-flowered). Synonymous with 
E. fulgens. 
hy i 
Fic. 741. EUPHORBIA MELOFORMIS. 
E. meloformis (Melon-like). fl. 
many angles. ‘ 6in. to 9in. Cape of Good Hope, 1774. Stove 
or warm greenhouse. See Fig. 741. 
E. (Monteiro’s). green; involucre sub-regular cam- 
- panulate, turbinate, or hem: spherical. June. J. fleshy, glabrous, 
narrow, spathulate. Branchlets floriferous. A. 2ft. to 6ft. Bahia, 
1864. A very remarkable species, on account of the curious suc- 
cessive productions of the staminate flowers. Stove. (B. M. 
5534. 
E. Myrsinites (Myrsinites). fi. yellow, in an umbel of from 
five to nine rays, surrounded by an involucre of ovate, .sha 
leaflets. Summer. J, fleshy, concave, light green, sessile. South 
Europe. A very ornamental hardy prostrate species. (S. F. G. 
471.) 
E. pulcherrima (pretty). fi, greenish-yellow, subtended by large 
vermilion bracts, small. Winter. Z. ovate-elliptical, sub-acute, 
petioled. A. 2ft. to 6ft. Mexico, 1834. Shrub. Syn. Poinsettia 
pulcherrima. (B. M. 3493.) There is a variety of this with 
creamy-white bracts, and another (E. p. plenissima) with double 
series of bracts (G. C. n. s., v. 17) 
E. splendens (splendid). A. bracts bright red, waxy, clustered. 
l. bright green, texture thin, rather small. Stems dark-coloured, 
closely set with long, stout, sharp thorns, A. 4ft. Bourbon, 
1826, A handsome stove species, with sturdy branching habit. 
Several hardy species of Euphorbia, now almost lost to our 
gardens, are well worth culture. Among these may be mentioned 
aleppica, with dense terminal heads of flowers, and crowded 
linear-oblong leaves; Characias, with the flower-s ; 
length and verticillate ; pilosa, with dense i 
nish-yellow . flower-heads, and linear-oblong 
he species indigenous to this country, amygdaloi 
greenish. Plant unarmed, with: ` 
