What is it??

 

Last year I noticed a new plant growing in my garden. Initially I thought it
was a weed but it looked interesting so I left it (them... there are 2).

I have asked several 'gardening friends' but nobody is able to tell me what
the plant is called.

This year it would appear that there will be a yellow flower. Can anybody
please tell me what this strange plant is.

http://www.argentfamily.co.uk/Images/Plant/dscn2809.jpg
http://www.argentfamily.co.uk/Images/Plant/dscn2810.jpg
http://www.argentfamily.co.uk/Images/Plant/dscn2811.jpg

Much appreciated :D

 

This is Euphorbia lathyrus - the 'Caper Spurge' occasionally reputed to
rid gardens of moles.  An annual plant, it develops a solitary stem
anywhere between 60 - 90cms.high with a rather pleasingly cruciform
arrangement of blue green leaves, terminating in a cluster of lime
green flowers and bracts.  It does well in sun or very light shade and
pops up regularly if you let the seed pods ripen and explode on hot
sunny days.  (Gertrude Jekyll used to sit and write in her summer house
as the seeds rattled on the roof above - she found it a pleasant
experience and you'll probably do too.)  Nuff of that - it's a fine
plant that looks well in the right place and although it can be a
prolific seeder, unwelcome youngsters are easily removed.  Being a
Mediterranean 'invader' that does well when happy and can't be
persuaded to grow when not, it's a much welcomed visitor in many
gardens.

 



a word of warning the milky sap causes great irritation to some people,
I have been unlucky or maybe careless and have had two reactions on my
face and several years later still have the scars to prove it.

kate  

 


Don't be misled by the 'caper' - it is not edible and is probably
poisonous.
It seems to be biennial in habit - if doesn't flower the first year, and
it dies in the second year after flowering, so keep your eye open for
seedlings and make sure you leave at least one for next year.
--
Kay

 

Kay wrote:

Ah yes, I forgot about the north-south divide.  In the south, seedlings
germinate quickly and make good progress often continuing to grow
throughout winter.  These usually flower in late spring and die as the
seeds ripen - hence the annual bit.  Further north, the seedlings make
much less headway, barely reaching more than a couple of centimetres
before winter and many do not even germinate until the following
spring.  Most of the growth takes place during summer and with flowers
developing in the spring of the next year.

Quite right about the 'caper' bit.  The common name merely alludes to
the similarity that unripe seeds have to capers.  True capers are the
pickled flower buds of a South African shrub - Capparis spinosa - which
are pleasantly piquant or not depending upon your taste.  Try pickling
and eating the seeds of Euphorbia lathyrus and you'll end up feeling
extremely unwell.