Urban Landscape, Native Landscape: Euphorbia nicaeensis

Friday, June 17, 2016

Euphorbia nicaeensis

Euphorbia nicaeensis

Euphorbia nicaeensis with Stachys byzantina (Lamb's Ears)

Euphorbia nicaeensis is a perennial plant, evergreen in Seattle, with new stems in spring reaching two feet in length & replacing the stems of the previous year, which wither during the summer, as in many other Euphorbia species. It blooms in June. The plant is easy to grow, requires very little water & good drainage. It is a good candidate for a Mediterranean garden & really quite lovely. Euphorbia nicaeensis is similar in size & shape to Euphorbia rigida, another worthwhile & more common species. Euphorbia nicaeensis is a bit difficult to find. I ordered mine from Joy Creek Nursery in Scappoose, Oregon. Euphorbia nicaeensis is native to Europe in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy & Croatia, as well as Turkey & the Caucasus. Nicaea was an ancient city which now lies within the modern Turkish city of Iznik. Nicaea Maritima was the ancient Roman name for the city of Nice, France. The specific epithet 'nicaeensis' (of Nicaea) can refer to either city, both within the range of this plant. It was likely observed by the participants of the Council of Nicaea in the year 325, which may be significant to those interested in early Christian history.

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About This Blog

This blog began in 2008 as Metropolitan Gardens to provide information on gardening in Seattle & places like it. Click on Gardening in Cascadia. The blog expanded to include Parks P-Patches Public Gardens in the US, Canada & Europe. Then Nature was added. (The difference between nature & gardens is intent. Nature happens. Gardens are planned.) Many recent posts are not about Seattle, or even Cascadia. They are Urban Landscape: streetscape & architecture. Cascadia is the region including the Cascade Mountains of Washington & Oregon. If you want to contact the blogger, leave a message in comments. Comments are moderated & private messages will not be posted.

Our Land & Climate

The city of Seattle rests between 2 bodies of water: Puget Sound & Lake Washington. Puget Sound is a substantial part of the Salish Sea & a very small part of the Pacific Ocean. The Salish Sea is set apart from the Pacific by the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington & Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia. The dense, wet clouds of the Pacific Ocean travel as far as the Cascade Mountains, near the Salish Sea & not very far from the ocean. East of the Cascades lies the desert of the Columbia Basin. The moist, temperate climate of Seattle extends south to northern California & north to southeastern Alaska. The Pacific Northwest Coast from San Francisco Bay to Cook Inlet shares a flora dominated by evergreen coniferous forest. The central portion, west of the Cascade Mountains, is called Cascadia. The climate is cool & wet from fall to spring, warm & dry in summer. The Olympic Mountains block Seattle from much of the Pacific rainfall. Seattle is drier than the Atlantic coast of North America & northern Europe, cooler in summer & warmer in winter. It lies near the latitude of Paris & Quebec City.