Euphorbia, Devil Or Angel? -- June 3, 2015

Due to overwhelming demand, I am re-posting this, in its entirety, from earlier today:

Trivia for the day: botanists are fascinated by Euphorbia, a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, due to the diversity or bizarreness of some of the floral structures, and by the range of growth forms and adaptations to such a wide range of habitats. North Dakotans love Euphorbia at Christmas (poinsettas) but otherwise hate it (leafy spurge). Leafy spurge is considered a noxious weed under North Dakota law; landowners are required to eradicate or control the spread of the plant.

I was looking for an excuse to post this song, which flashed across my mind last night, Euphorbia, devil or angel?

Devil or Angel, Bobby Vee
Oh, how can I resist? Bobby Vee is a North Dakota native, born in Fargo, ND, in 1943. From wiki:

Vee's career began amid tragedy. On "The Day the Music Died" (February 3, 1959), the three headline acts in the line-up of the traveling 'Winter Dance Party'—Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper—were killed, along with 21-year-old pilot Roger Peterson, in the crash of a 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza near Clear Lake, Iowa, while en route to the next show on the tour itinerary in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Velline, then aged 15, and a hastily-assembled band of Fargo, North Dakota, schoolboys calling themselves the Shadows volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at the Moorhead engagement.

Their performance there was a success, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee's career as a popular singer.

See also:

• 29789, drl/NC, Enerplus, Euphorbia 149-92-35B-05H, Heart Butte

By the way, and this is important, also from wiki:

Among laypersons, Euphorbias are among the most commonly confused plant taxa with cacti, especially the stem succulents.

Euphorbias secrete a sticky, milky-white fluid with latex, but cacti do not.

Individual flowers of Euphorbias are usually tiny and nondescript (although structures around the individual flowers may not be), without petals and sepals, unlike cacti, which often have fantastically showy flowers.

Euphorbias from desert habitats with growth forms similar to cacti have thorns, which are different than the spines of cacti.

When I get the energy, I will come back to:

• the wooly torch (#31187)
• the ocotillo (#31288)
• the saguaro (#29790)
• the euphorbia (#29789)
• the cactus (#29788)
• the rebutia (#29819)