야광기린(夜光麒麟)

야광기린(夜光麒麟)

Euphorbia phosphorea

펜슬트리

국표에는 없다.

Origin and Habitat: Brazil: Central parts of the state of Bahia, also in the state of Paraíba.

Habitat: It grows on exposed rocky hills and gravelly plains, within the vegetation type known as caatinga, a dry-deciduous xerophytic vegetation usually formed by spiny, entangled scrubs and mall trees, together with bromeliads (Encholirium sp.) and cacti. It can also be found as a rupicolous in the borders of rock outcrops surrounding caatinga. Euphorbia phorphorea often forms dense colonies.

Description: Euphorbia phosphorea is an essentially aphyllous shrub or small tree with a short trunk that divides few centimeters above the ground into many strongly ribbed branches which grow in grand profusion, forming a huge crown. It attaining a height of up to 6 meters when growing amongst other vegetation growing around it, but usually staying with a average height of 2 meters. The plant share its general habit of growth with Euphorbia pteroneura.

Trunk: The plants form a small trunk 5 cm or more in diameter when growing amidst the caatinga, but they branch from the ground level when growing as a rupicolous.

Branches: Straight, flexible, elastic, jointed, upright or somewhat leaning back due to their weigh, 1-3 cm in diameter, of variable length, cylindrical-polygonal angled along with nodes c. 5 cm apart arranged in a counter-clockwise ascending helical pattern. Angles (ribs) 6-)7-8(-9) not very salient conferring a channelled appearance to the branch. These ribs are closely related to the nodes: from each node three ribs originate, and each node also receive three ribs originated from other nodes. The disposition of the ribs also follows a well defined pattern: two of the ribs originating in a given node will end in a same posterior node,while the third rib will end in a different posterior node. This pattern is the same found in Euphorbia sipolisii and also at times found in Euphorbia attastoma. The branches vary in colour from dark to yellowish-green and are more or less covered by a layer of wax confering to them a glaucous hue, and at times the cover of wax is so intense that the branch appear greyish. The very new growth is flushed with red, often in a intense wine colour. once a branch stops growing it do not resume its growth, and new growth is obtained only by the production of more basal branches.

Leaves: Tiny, rudimentary only at the top of the new branch and soon deciduous. They are succulent, lanceolate, reddish in colour, 3-6 mm long and approx. 1 mm in diameter.

Flowers: Cyathia (specialised inflorescences) clustered at the end of the branches from the nodes, wine-red c. 8 mm in diameter with one pistillate flower flanked by 0 to 3 staminate flowers (rarely consisting only of staminate flowers). Nectar-glands 5(-6) with bifid appendages 1-3 mm long prolonged and curved inwards, dull red (rarely yellowish) resembling two small horns. All the cyathial parts is strongly verrucose. Each node of a branch can produce an aggregate of 1 to 10 cyathia. In the flowering season, the branches are often completely covered with flowers.

http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/SUCCULENTS/Family/Euphorbiaceae/27723/Euphorbia_phosphorea