Euphorbia baioensisBaio Spurge

Euphorbia baioensis is a small clumping succulent spurge from the dry country of northern Kenya. It builds a low colony of upright, sharply ribbed green stems armed with paired spines, effectively leafless, with small yellow-green flower structures at the stem tips. It is a collector's plant and a specimen for a gravel bed rather than a mass-planting subject.

Used well it sits in a rock crevice or a gritty raised bed where its architecture is read at close range, and it needs almost nothing from the maintenance schedule.

Specifications

• Height0.3 to 0.6 metres
• Width0.5 to 1 metre as a spreading clump
• Native toNorthern Kenya
• FoliageEffectively leafless; photosynthesis is carried out by the ribbed, spiny green stems, with small leaves shed soon after they appear on new growth
• Growth rateSlow

Conditions

• SoilRequires sharply drained gritty or sandy soils; rots quickly in heavy or wet ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterVery low; highly drought-tolerant
• ClimateThrives in arid and semi-arid regions; frost sensitive

Additional Features

• FormDense low clump of upright ribbed and spined stems
• FlowersSmall yellow-green cyathia carried at the stem tips
• UsesIdeal for rockeries, gravel gardens, raised gritty beds, container displays and arid feature planting
• SpacingPlant 0.4 to 0.6 metres apart to allow the clump to spread
• Low MaintenanceRequires almost no attention once established
• Pest ResistanceGenerally resilient in the open; mealybug can appear under cover
• Drought ToleranceThrives on minimal water and resents irrigation
• ToxicityThe milky latex is a severe skin and eye irritant; handle with gloves

Baio Spurge is a specimen succulent for the driest corner of a scheme, where its structure does the work.