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Dieren en planten

Plants   Sea spurge   Beach flora   Yellow flowers   

Water en land

Mens en Milieu

Sea spurge

size:

30 to 60 centimeters

color:

yellow-green

blossoms:

May through July

pollination:

insects, particularly ants

reproduction:

explosion of seeds and side stems

life span:

perennial

  • Dut: Zeewolfsmelk
  • Lat: Euphorbia paralias
  • Eng: Sea spurge
  • Ger: Strand-Wolfsmilch
Sea spurge, Foto Fitis, www.fotofitis.nl

Sea spurge

Sea spurge is a strange looking plant, with its erect dense leaf-covered stems. Like all spurges, it contains a white toxic milky sap. Because the actual blossom has been modified, it's difficult to identify it from the sepals. As the name indicates, this plant grows along sea coasts. It is native to Western Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. However, it cannot grow in cold climates. The delta region in the Netherlands is the most prominant area to find sea spurge and used to be the northern border. But because the winters have been reasonably mild in recent years, sea spurge is now found sporadically on the Wadden Islands among the flood mark.