Euphorbias are a varied genus of plants that include cacti-like succulents and the leathery-leaved wood spurges that we are more familiar with from our gardens. Most species produce tiny flowers surrounded by long-lasting, conspicuous bracts. These appear in various colours - red, purple, yellow and the glorious acid-green that we most associate with euphorbias. In autumn the foliage of many species, particularly some Chinese ones, turns brilliant red, orange, purple and yellow.

Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii is a great, beefy, evergreen shrub with whorls of narrow leaves and large, dense heads of flowers in that sharp, yellow-green shade that euphorbias do so well.