Euphorbia marginata

White border spurge (Euphorbia marginata )

The white border spurge (Euphorbia marginata ), even snow on the mountains, mountain snow, American edelweiss or bride and groom plant called, is a flowering plant in the genus Euphorbia (Euphorbia ) in the family of Euphorbiaceae ( Euphorbiaceae ).

Description

The white border spurge is an annual plant that reaches a height of about 0.8 meters. It initially increases unbranched, but later from the central stalk starting to branched bushy. The basal leaves are green, the bracts are white and usually show a narrow green midsection. There is a certain resemblance to the unrelated Edelweiss ( Leontropodium alpinum), is one of the to the Compositae (Asteraceae).

The flowering time is mainly in August and September. The actual flowers are small, inconspicuous and whitish- greenish colored and are located in the center of the bracts.

The fruit capsules are hairy divided into three parts and short, the seeds are smooth and light brown in color. The seeds are distributed from the dehiscent capsule fruits in the area. The year-long white border spurge seeds off by itself.

All parts of the white border spurge contain latex, which may cause slight skin irritation in humans. This is due to the phorbol ester compound.

Occurrence

The home of the white border spurge is North America and Mexico. However, it also occurs as an invasive plant in Central Europe. It prefers sunny locations. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant.