LEAFY SPURGE (Euphorbia esula) скачать в хорошем качестве

LEAFY SPURGE (Euphorbia esula)

How to identify Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia eulsa) This is leafy spurge, a member of the Euphorbia family of plants. It is native to Africa and has become a highly invasive species in northern and central United States. It is a perennial plant which blooms from early spring to late summer. Leafy spurge grows as dense clusters of branching stems, which are each topped by groups of flower heads. The stems are light green to brown and smooth and hairless. The leaves of leafy spurge are simple, oblong shaped and light green with a bluish hue. They have a straight, pale green midrib, and are totally smooth and hairless. The flowers are very small and yellowish green in color, and they grow in small groups surrounded by large yellow bracts. The seeds are found in small green pods which each contain three seeds, and which explode when dried. The roots of leafy spurge are very dense, extensive branching groups which contain buds that send up new shoots aboveground. This allows them to rapidly spread and crowd out competing plants. The whole plant is filled with a poisonous, milky latex sap. Leafy spurge is adaptable and is capable of growing in a variety of sun and moisture levels. It prefers disturbed soils, and is commonly found invading pastures, grasslands, prairies, and roadsides. Euphorbia is a very large and varied genus, with a few other invasive species in North America, but E. esula remains distinct from these other species. The latex found within this plant is toxic and will cause blistering and rashes upon contact with skin, and if ingested will cause severe gastrointestinal upset. This plant is extremely invasive and causes great damage to both natural ecosystems and agriculture, as it overtakes many other plants and is toxic to most livestock. Sources: Weeds of the West, 5th Edition (1991) by Tom D. Whitson, published by the Western Society of Weed Science University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources IPM – Weed Gallery http://ipm.ucanr.edu/ United States Department of Agriculture – Plant Database https://plants.usda.gov