How the prairie differs from the mountain

Snow-on-the-praire; click for greater detail.

Yesterday’s post showed a lush snow-on-the-prairie, Euphorbia bicolor, its lushness due to a pond on whose banks it and some others of its species grew, including the one shown here. If you compare this photograph to the picture of snow-on-the-mountain posted on August 28, you’ll see that snow-on-the-prairie has longer and narrower bracts; its regular leaves are likewise more elongated, and they’re also softer and fuzzier. Recall that the flowers are the inconspicuous little yellow-green structures at the center of each white “collar.”

For more information about snow-on-the-mountain, including a clickable map showing where the species grows, you can visit the USDA website.

© 2011 Steven Schwartzman