From its structure I knew this wonderfully sunny plant was a Euphorbia, a member of the Spurge family, as soon as I saw it, but I had no idea until I researched it later that the Isle of Portland had its very own species.

This is Portland spurge (Euphorbia portlandica), a close relative of Sea spurge (Euphorbia paralias) but with some subtle differences in the shape of its leaves: Sea spurge has thick fleshy leaves, whereas those of Portland spurge are thinner, with more pointy tips. Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of that until later so the leaves are rather obscured in my photographs. I was just delighted by the joyous colour of Portland’s flowers, so appropriate for this seaside location.

Portland spurge is not confined to the Isle of Portland; it can also be found growing on dune sands and coastal sea cliffs around the south and west of Britain and Ireland.