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MaltaWildPlants.com by Stephen Mifsud |
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Euphorbia paralias (Sea Spurge) |
Euphorbia paralias (EUPHORBIACEAE.) Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000. |
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Nomenclature and Basic Information |
Species name : |
Euphorbia paraliasL.
Published in L., Sp. Pl. 458 (1753) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
No Main Synonyms |
Plant Family : |
Euphorbiaceae
Juss. (The Spurge Family) 23 species from the Euphorbiaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Sea Spurge |
Maltese name(s) : |
Tengħud tar-Ramel |
Status for Malta : |
Indigenous. Present on the Maltese islands before man |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: CHAMEOPHYTE ( dwarf or small woody shrubs )
Germination [info]: Dicotyledon |
Legal Protection : |
Protected by law: Schedule III and VI of [S.L. 549.44] (strictly protected species) |
Red List (1989) : |
Threatened status for the Maltese Islands and has been listed in the Red Data Book (1st ed.) |
Flowering Time : |
April – September |
Colour of Flowers: |
Inconspicuous |
Name Derivation : |
Euphorbia: "Named for Euphorbus, a Greek physician to Juba II - King of Mauretania of Numibia (52-50 BC - 23 AD), who might have used a certain plant in allusion to his swollen belly, possibly Euphorbia resinifera. (Further info: [1] [2]) Euphorbus can have been derives from 'eu-' = good and '-phorbe' = pasture or fodder, thus giving the meaning well-fed or fat-belly. ". (Greek origin )
paralias: from the Greek 'paralos' = maritime since of the coastal habitat of this species, but sometimes used with the sense of blue like the sea for its bluish-green leaves. (Greek origin )
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Description, Habitat and Distribution |
Habitat in Europe: |
Sandy sea-shores. |
Preferred habitat in Malta: |
Confined to sandy seashores. |
Botanical Description: |
Glabrous, glaucous, somewhat fleshy, caespitose perennial up to 70 cm, branched from the base, and with 0-9 axillary rays. Leaves 3-30 x 2-15 mm, lowest ones obovate-oblong, middle ones elliptic-oblong and upper ones ovate; all entire, adaxially concave, imbricate. Ray-leaves like the upper cauline. Raylet-leaves suborbicular-rhombic to reniform, strongly adaxially concave. Rays 3-6, up to 3 times dichotomous. Glands emarginate. Capsule 3-5 x 4.5-6 mm, deeply sulcate, granulate on the keels. Seeds 2.5-3.5 mm, broadly ovoid, smooth, pale grey. |
Chromosome number: |
2n=16 |
Distributional range: |
Coasts of W. & S. Europe, from Ireland and the Netherlands to Romania. |
Distributional map in Europe and the Mediterranean region (2018): |
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Occurrences in Europe. (from Flora Europaea pre year 1993): |
Albania, Belgium, the Balaeric Islands, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands), Bulgaria, Corse, Crete, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (excl. Sicily and Sardignia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta, Turkey (European part) |
Occurrences in Europe and the Mediterranean region. (from Euro+Med Checklist, 2019)
Country codes
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AE(G) Ag Al Au Be Bl Br Bu Ca Co Cr Cy Cz Eg Ga Ge Gr Hb He Ho Hs IJ It Ju Li LS Lu Ma Md Rm Sa Si Sn Tcs Tn Tu(A E) Uk(K U) |
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