Appearance
It has many medium to tall unbranched stems with long narrow leaves, clothed densely in short hair, and dark or yellow floral nectar glands within the yellow cup-like cyathia, which are borne in large dense spherical to oblong clusters, from spring to early summer. The fruits are smooth densely-hairy capsules. It is a tough plant, capable of resisting long periods of drought. It grows preferably in dry areas, often far away from the water table, both in flat as well as in mountainous terrain. This plant can also resist high salinity.Similar species include E. kotschyana and E. thompsonii.
Naming
Two main subspecies are found in different regions of the Mediterranean Basin; these often overlap in the western areas of distribution:.⤷ "E. characias" L. subsp. "characias". From Portugal to Crete.
⤷ "E. characias" subsp. "wulfenii" Radcl.-Sm.. From Southern France to Anatolia.
Uses
This plant also has uses in traditional medicine; like many other species of genus "Euphorbia" its toxic white and sticky sap has been used to treat skin excrescences, like cancers, tumors, and warts, since ancient times.References:
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