Family: spurges (Euphorbiaceae)
Flowering time: March–June
Size: 30–60 cm
Habitat: deciduous forests, forest edges and clearings, and among shrubs
Almond-leaved spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides) is a perennial with a sturdy stem that is lignified at the base. Robust, evergreen, lanceolate to obovate leaves are arranged in a spiral. At the tops of barren (non-flowering) shoots the leaves are rosette-dense; at the tops of flowering shoots the inflorescence opens into a composite inflorescence. This is formed by a cup-shaped cyathium and lateral inflorescences developed beneath it. Another characteristic of almond-leaved spurge, by which it can be reliably distinguished from other species of this genus, is the intergrown supporting leaves of the inflorescences (cyathia). This species also contains a poisonous milky sap.
Almond-leaved spurge grows on moist, humus-rich soils in the shelter of the forest. It tolerates moderately warm habitats across Slovenia, only avoiding the far northeast of the country.
