Euphorbia lactea ‘White ghost’ -how do they survive?

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Mrs.Green
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Euphorbia lactea ‘White ghost’ -how do they survive?

Post by Mrs.Green »

This post is inspired by another post on the forum but since I wasn’t sure if it was ok to hijack his post to ask questions, I made a new thread. I have never seen a ‘White ghost’ IRL so I haven’t had any chanses to investigate the matter myself.

First; What causes the ghostlike appearance ? Is it lack of chlorophyll or some sort of heavy farina? If the first suggestion is right, how do they survive on their own roots? Looking at pics online it seems to be several grades of how ghostlike they appear but the one in mirko87’s post here , is the whitest I have seen so far. I have studied the pics in the thread and it seems to me that the whiteness is not just some sort of coating/farina, but lack of chlorophyll?
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Steve-0
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Location: Salt Lake Valley, Utah...high mountain desert climate

Re: Euphorbia lactea ‘White ghost’ -how do they survive?

Post by Steve-0 »

"E. lactea WHITE (or “Grey”) GHOST is a a striking and very popular cultivar lacking in most of the chlorophyll bearing tissues of it's green counter part."

Mrs. Green, the above was a clip from here: https://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/EUPHO ... _ghost.htm

I, too, wondered how well they lived and found a few articles about it. Not my cuppa tea...but then neither are lithops. I like my plants all spiny. :shock: :D
Mrs.Green
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Re: Euphorbia lactea ‘White ghost’ -how do they survive?

Post by Mrs.Green »

Steve-0 wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 5:09 pm "E. lactea WHITE (or “Grey”) GHOST is a a striking and very popular cultivar lacking in most of the chlorophyll bearing tissues of it's green counter part."

Mrs. Green, the above was a clip from here: https://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/EUPHO ... _ghost.htm

I, too, wondered how well they lived and found a few articles about it. Not my cuppa tea...but then neither are lithops. I like my plants all spiny. :shock: :D
Thank you Steve-O! :) Note to self; don’t write posts before fully awake.. #-o I don’t know how I came to think about farina, since the natural form doesn’t seem to have any farina.. But that ‘births’ another question..is it possible to selectively breed for more farina than normal?

Back to the ghost, I still can’t understand how a plant with so little chlorophyll can survive and grow.. The small flecks with chlorophyll tissue shouldn’t be able to keep the plant alive..one of lifes mysteries I guess.

So you like spines? Well then you gotta lova this one! I fell in love when I saw it listed the first time and the sellers description really made my day! :D If this plant was situated in Norway it would have been mine already!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Opuntia-molest ... Swz2Vf7F56
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One Windowsill
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Re: Euphorbia lactea ‘White ghost’ -how do they survive?

Post by One Windowsill »

If you look at the photos on llifle you can see the main stem has a blue-green tint. From the look of it there is a chlorophyll-rich layer under a layer of waxy-white flesh. It is slower-growing than the green or variegated types. It probably acts like a window in Lithops or Haworthia, protecting the sensitive layers in strong sun. The young growth looks as though it has a yellow pigment covering it as well.

http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/SUCC ... hite_Ghost
Mrs.Green
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Re: Euphorbia lactea ‘White ghost’ -how do they survive?

Post by Mrs.Green »

One Windowsill wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 7:47 pm If you look at the photos on llifle you can see the main stem has a blue-green tint. From the look of it there is a chlorophyll-rich layer under a layer of waxy-white flesh. It is slower-growing than the green or variegated types. It probably acts like a window in Lithops or Haworthia, protecting the sensitive layers in strong sun. The young growth looks as though it has a yellow pigment covering it as well.

http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/SUCC ... hite_Ghost
Yes, I have noticed that :) It looks like the plant have been heavily coated in white wax. To me it just look sickly but thats me.
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