Euphorbia myrsinites (myrtle spurge)

Japanese name: ユーフォルビア ミルシニテス
Scientific name: Euphorbia myrsinites

[Overview]
An evergreen perennial 15–40 cm tall.
When the stems or leaves are damaged, a milky white latex comes out.
The stem is fleshy, unbranched, and creeps long along the ground.
Leaves are simple and spirally alternate, elliptic, 1–2 cm long, thick and tinged with gray.
The leaf margins are entire.
The leaves turn red in winter.
A compound inflorescence 5–10 cm across, made up of several clustered cyathia, is borne at the stem tips.
The flowers are held in cyathia and have no perianth.
The bracts enclosing the flowers are yellow to yellowish green.
The fruit is a globose capsule.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings and from seed.
For cuttings, wash the milky white latex off the cut surface immediately with water or soak it in water, let the cut surface dry, and then insert the cutting.
The larger the cut surface, the harder it is to root.
It prefers sunny, well-drained soil.
If the conditions suit it, it is robust and grows well even if left alone.
For potted plants, from spring to autumn water thoroughly when the soil surface dries, and keep it on the dry side in winter.
For plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
It tolerates dryness well.
From spring to autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer once every 2 months, or liquid fertilizer once a month.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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