EUPHORBIA. Spurge. Nearly worldwide. A vast group ranging in plant type from annuals to trees. Many have milky—usually poisonous—juice. The flower clusters are often showy, but what appear to be the flowers are usually the bracts below them (the actual blossoms are without petals and usually not obvious). It is impossible to make many other generalizations about a group so large. However, the following few are hardy and easily grown, delighting in sun and reasonably well drained soil. Wear gloves and a long-sleeved shirt when handling them, and don’t plant them where children play! The juice of species like E. characias and E. myrsinites nearly leaps out of cut stems and can raise blisters and damage the eyes.

griffithii ‘Fireglow’. This species spreads by underground rhizomes to make small colonies. It has arching 2-3’ stems lined by long, narrow, dark green leaves. These are tinged with red in new growth and turn bright orange in fall and winter. The large, open flower clusters have showy orange-red bracts. Hardy to around 0^oF.