#euphorbiaceae

Sphecodes(arvensiformis) “Cuckoo Sweat Bee” Halictidae
onEuphorbia esula “Leafy Spurge” Euphorbiaceae

Blue Mountain National Recreation Area, MT
May 16, 2016
Robert Niese

Sphecodesbees are cleptoparasitic, cuckoo-like bees that lay their eggs in the nests of other sweat bees. Despite their outward appearance, these insects are not wasps, but they have converged on a very cuckoo-wasp-like life-history strategy. A female enters the nests of another Halictid, consumes a developing egg and replaces it with her own. Unfortunately, these bees, like the vast majority of Halictids, are very poorly studied and there are few entomologists capable of accurately identifying them beyond the genus level. Oh, and by the way, Leafy Spurge, while it is one of Missoula’s most widespread invasives, is also one of my favorite spring plants. They’re just such odd organisms! More photos and natural history info to come, I’m sure.

Looking back at my other photos of these bees from years ago makes me realize how far my skills as a photographer and natural historian have progressed.

Juicy poinsettias… forbidden grapes… forbidden honey… forbidden cheeto dust… smh.

The seeds on my salmon poinsettia were falling off, so I picked the loose ones before they get my window sill all sticky. Apparently once they are all brown and dried out, the seeds inside these seed pods will be ready for planting. I have no idea what they will look like inside there lol, but I’m excited nonetheless. The smell of this poinsettia is something like the smell of dark chocolate, so it was very tempting to lick the pollen and juice off my fingers. (But I didn’t!)

Also it looks like my red poinsettia is making a new bloom!! So late in the season!! Idk what to do! I was going to repot them into their larger pots, but if it’s about to flower maybe I should wait it out… my room never has seasons anyway, I always keep it as warm as I can, so I’m wondering if this will mess with the poinsettias’ annual cycles… They require pure darkness in the evening in fall, but if the temperature is wrong, idk if I will get them to bloom again properly… (I was kinda using them as a test run for when I plant another green plant that requires special dark hours as well but maybe I’m better off planting those ones outside.)

Anyway, once the pink one is done with growing the last seed pods, I will repot that one, and probably the red one at the same time. I have the pots and plant stands all ready for ‘em, I’m just impatiently waiting for the seeds. (And also hoping I can get some of the seeds to acclimate to our outdoors weather!)
❤❤
How are YOUR poinsettias holding up?
#plant #plants #indoorgardening #indoorplants #poinsettia #poinsettias #variegated #poinsettiaseeds #poinsettiapropagation #euphorbiaceae #euphorbiapulcherrima #pandemicgardening #winter #houseplant #houseplants #seedpods #seedcollection #seeds #flowers #blooms #bracts
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Poinsettia seed progress!!

Only my peachy poinsettia bloomed (apparently my variegated one had already bloomed when I got it, cuz the flowers just fell off when I touched them, back when I was pollinating the peach one)….
Anyway, January 1 was the first time I noticed that the seed pods started forming! And already just over a week later (today, January 9), they have so much definition! Gonna be exciting to see them form, and if they grow after I harvest them! It was SUCH a sticky process - the poinsettia yellow flowers (not the pink bracts) have a natural hole under them that weeps a clear sticky sap…. I thought just clearing the fallen leaves was sticky, but pollinating?? It’s like dipping my fingertips into honey and then into shredded broccoli florets. Such a mess lmao.

Once the seed pods have fully formed and I’ve harvested them, I’ll repot the poinsettias into the nice big pots I already have set up. I just LOVE how bushy and full these plants are, hopefully I can keep them this way!

#poinsettia #poinsettiaseeds #poinsettiapropagation #seedpods #euphorbiaceae #plant #plants #plantprogress #progress #indoorgardening #indoorplants #pink
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYiGWPqLtkH/?utm_medium=tumblr

Cleaned up my plants and windowsills!

The bigge boi is my dream plant, a Dragon’s Blood Tree (“Dracaena draco”), and he weighs like 60+ pounds, MINIMUM, I s2g. I’m amazed I was able to deadlift him up the whole stairway (in a very smooth pot with no grips) when I could barely move him 5 feet into the house after potting him last month. (And the grow light is there because I don’t think it’s quite enough sunlight, but he’s been doing well inside with NO direct light for the past month, so…)

I also have 2 new Poinsettias (“Euphorbia pulcherrima”) bc I’m all about that #tropicallyfe !! One’s a pinky salmon colour, and the other is red and white variegated “Mexican Flameleaf”. My mom also has a classic red one we’re gonna try to plant in the yard after it stops blooming.

My “Cordyline indivisa” got his pot painted gold finally to match all my shit. He’s looking REALLY great and has grown A LOT. I feel bad that his brother I kept outside died last spring, but that’s why I kept them separate!

I also got a Christmas Cactus (“Schlumbergera bridgesii”) and unfortunately did not have a pot big enough for all 4 of them to stay together, so I had to separate them out, and now their flowers and buds are dropping off. But better that than staying in the gross nursery pot. (I know, they like to be pot-bound, but I can’t keep a black nursery pot inside, it’s not #aesthetic .)

My other plants are still kickin’ - Persian Shield plants (“Strobilanthus”) and Dark Star Coleus (“Coleus”). I tried propagating both from a clipping, but I think it’s too cold for them downstairs… so. The jury’s still out on those. (Also pictured: Arrowhead Plant/“Syngonium podophyllum” and Rubber Plant/“Ficus elastica”).

I still have a bunch more plant-organizing to do on my vanity counter, so stay tuned for that. (But only if I stop procrastinating it.)

#plants #indoorgardening #indoorplants #plantlyfe #organization #dracaenadraco #dracaena #dragonsbloodtree #dragontree #euphorbiapulcherrima #euphorbia #euphorbiaceae #poinsettia #tropicalplants #cordyline #cordylineindivisa #dracaenaspikes #schlumbergera #schlumbergerabridgesii #christmascactus #persianshield #coleus
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Euphorbia bupleurifolia

Euphorbia is a large and very variable genus, with many interesting species found in South Africa. One of these is the unique Euphorbia bupleurifolia, with its sheaf of narrow leaves atop a bumpy base. When it flowers, as ours is doing now, we have the added treat of a multitude of chartreuse cups within which are the tiny flowers.

-Brian

Jatropha integerrima, karibianjatropa

6/29/17:Codiaeum variegatum or Garden Croton; a flowering plant species native to “Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and the western Pacific Ocean islands”, with separate male and female inflorescences (groups of flowers) on the one plant. Known and popular for it’s unique, brightly colored leaves which come in several differing cultivars. It is a member of the Euphorbiaceae family (which I found to be interesting - most of the Euphorbes I cared for working in a greenhouse were not similar to this! But plants are immensely diverse!). This species prefers tropical climates, so it won’t survive in temperatures below 55*F or 13*C. This also means it needs to be kept more moist and watered in humid/hot environments or during the summer, while cutting back to watering 2 or 3 times a week during the winter or in a cooler environment.

-Jessica