Euphorbia enjoys a huge spate of early growth

Euphorbia, also known as spurge, bursts into bloom at White Rock

Officially, Euphorbia got its botanical name from Linnaeus, who published his Species Plantarum in 1753.

However, Pliny the Elder, a Roman officer and botanist, had named the plant in his book in 79 AD. This volume was called The Natural History of Pliny.

According to Pliny, this name was conferred on the plant by Juba II of Mauretania, a Berber kingdom near present- day Algeria, when a Greek physician called Euphorbus treated the ailing king with a member of this family called Resin Spurge.

The common name spurge (from French espurgier) alludes to the plant's laxative properties. Poinsettia, Medusa's Head, Mexican fire plant, Crown of thorns, Snow-on-the-mountain, Scarlet plume and the poisonous Pencil Cactus are all members of Genus Euphorbiae.