[palmbob]

Sadly I cannot add much to this discussion of these plants from a scientific or intelligent-sounding point of view, at least in terms of what abyssinica or acurensis is. You can peruse the Euphorbia journals and find several photos of abyssinica which sure appear to be unrelated plants. Either it is a variable species, or even the 'experts' don't know exactly what is going in. From my own point of view, Euphorbia abyssinica has always been a big mystery, which is odd since its name is so commonly used in the literature, and plants labeled as such always show up in nurseries (not that that really means anything). I have never seen one in person, or if I have, it was not identified as such. However, one thing that seems consistent in the photos of this plant, at least in the journal Euphorbia, is that it is always more than 5-6 sided. Thorns look like E ammak thorns only very dark (almost black). But what is frustrating is that photos NEVER show the whole plant... just close ups. So I have no clue how big it gets, what sort of shape it obtains, etc. Color is always dark green.

The following are what i see and have photographed of the other plants in this discussion. And though I am not schooled in botany or have a well developed vocabulary, I do have an artist's eye and am pretty good and identifying things once I know what they are. It would help if I could then scientifically describe what I saw to others.. but my primitive, naive words will have to do.

Plants identified as E acurensis, whether at botanical gardens or nurseries usually look the same, so I at least feel comfortable identifying plants as such, whether that is a synonym or not for abyssinica (which it may be... but if it is, the plants identified as acurensis are then indeed something else as the two cannot possibly be the same thing). These plants are upright, never drooping and are 'tight' in terms of appearance- my vocabularly sucks, so what I mean by that is all the branches are relatively close together, not nearly as much as lets say Euphorbia trigona, which is 'really tight'. These plants are usually 4 sided though when young they seem to start out 3-sided... again, maybe those are different plants? They are always thinly fleshed (meaning there is less 'flesh' to them than lest say E ammak or ingens). The 'thinness refers to the columns as the trunk develops into a thick, sturdy and square in cross section, almost rounded between the rows of spines... I have never seen a tall one (over 20') but then I have never been to AFrica either, so there could be giant ones there. The spines are sharp, thin (only plant discussed here with thin spines) and protrude about 0.5-1cm, and are very annoying. These plants are always a bright green to sometimes deep green. I know that is about as unscientific a description as you will ever read anywhere, but it is how I see things, and I find this a very recognizable plant- not a lot of variability. No wavy edges (as in ammak or sometimes ingens), never spineless (as in old ingens), never droopy, no branches pointing laterally, always thin etc. These produce leaves at the right time of year and with enough water- the leaves can grow up to 2" long (unlike E ingens) but I only see plants with them at the tops of the columns (sometimes I see E ammaks grown in shade with leaves running nearly their entire lenghts). Leaves are very thin and hardly succulent at all.

On to Euphorbia ammak. This plant is also confusing as there seem to be a lot of plants that are ammak-like. This may mean this is a highly variable species or that I am seeing hybrids, cultivars or something else entirely.

There are of course the very common variegated forms, all which look fairly alike. Though it might be woth noting young plants can look a lot different than old ones. Young plants have a lot more 'wave' in their branches and the spines are more prominent (maybe because of the wave pushing them out farther). This plant can be somewhat 'thin' (less meaty), but never as thin as E acurensis) or thick- nearly square in cross section in older specimens. As far as I can tell, this is also a 4- sided plant, with rare 5 sided branches now and then. Spines are very short (0.2-0.5cm), sharp and pale in color. Older taller plants seem to have even shorter spines, to the point one can pick up a section with bare hands and not be annoyed by them. Waviness is one of the distinguishing features that makes these so ornamental, but waviness is not consistent and older plants often have very little wave in the rows of columns. Monstrose forms of E ingens can sometime be confused with E ammaks, but tend to have a much smaller diameter. These grow very tall and often drop branches. Branching is usually upright but sometimes I see branches off to the sides... but it is rarely as irregular and messy looking as huge E ingens can get. Fruits are rounded (and variegated). Leaves are usually seen in new growth only, but shaded plants will often retain short, somewhat succulent leaves a long ways down the columns.

The green forms of what I call ammak do not look like the same species sometimes, as many have more than 4 sides. Most are less robust. Some have mild variegation, some are dark green. I have no idea if these are really E ammaks or some hybrid with the elusive abyssinica, or with ingens or are monstrose creations of cultivation. Sometimes I wonder if some of these are indeed the 'rare' E abyssinicas. I am not an stable ground with these plants, and I will show you several photos below to show you what I mean. I have never seen one in fruit. Leaves are commonly seen on some of these and never on others. Some have very thick growths of leaves, particularly if shaded. I have no idea how big these get as I have rarely seen one grown in a botanical garden.

E ingens is an easy plant to identify as it, like E acurensis (or what I call E acurensis) and the variegated E ammak, is not a highly variable plant. UNLESS you include that weeping thing at Lotusland (see photos below). It has a very thick flesh, rounded columns (not sharp as in E ammak and acurensis) and spines are so short sometimes they are immeasurable. Spines are dark brown to black. This plant is 4-5 sided, though mostly 4-sided. It is a monster and grows very tall. Branching is frequent, often with branches growing laterally or even pionting down (though I suspect that is more a function of their extreme weight and just not completely falling off). Fruits are reddish and triangular in some plants and spherical and yellow in others (two different plants? or what?). See photos below.

First two photos are of plants that are four sided while next two are three sided- age difference, variation, different plants? Last photo is my own and it is 'wavy' thanks to my torturing it... it was not wavy at first, nor it is today. Spines are consistent with all four plants (very sharp and annoying).