	


  The Families of Flowering Plants

	DELTA Home <http://delta-intkey.com>

L. Watson <http://delta-intkey.com/contact/watson.htm> and M. J. Dallwitz


      Euphorbiaceae Juss.

Including /Acalypheae/ (/Acalyphaceae/) J.G. Agardh, /Bertyaceae/ J.G.
Agardh, /Columellaceae/ Dulac (p.p.), /Crotonaceae/ J.G. Agardh,
/Hippomaneae/ (/Hippomanaceae/) J.G. Agardh, /Micrantheae/
(/Micrantheaceae/) J.G. Agardh, /Oldfieldiaceae/ auctt., /Phyllantheae/
(/Phyllanthaceae/) J.G. Agardh, /Putranjiveae/ (/Putranjivaceae/) Endl.,
/Porantheraceae/ (Pax) Hurusawa, /Pseudanthaceae/ Endl., /Ricinaceae/
Barkley, /Ricinocarpaceae/ (Pax) Hurusawa, /Scepaceae/ Lindl.,
/Tithymaloideae/ (/Tithymalaceae/) Vent., /Treviaceae/ Bullock,
/Trewiaceae/ Lindl.

Excluding /Androstachydaceae/, /Bischofiaceae/, /Hymenocardiaceae/,
/Peraceae/, /Picrodendraceae/, /Stilaginaceae/, /Uapacaceae/

*Habit and leaf form. *Trees, or ?arborescent?, or shrubs, or herbs, or
lianas; laticiferous, or non-laticiferous and without coloured juice
(e.g. Phyllanthoideae), or with coloured juice (rarely). ***?Normal?
plants, or switch-plants*; often with the principal photosynthesizing
function transferred to stems, or phyllodineous, or ?cactoid? (often).
Leaves well developed, or much reduced. Plants succulent, or
non-succulent. Self supporting, or climbing. Mesophytic, or xerophytic.
*Leaves* minute to large; alternate (usually), or opposite to whorled
(rarely); spiral, or distichous; ?herbaceous?, or leathery, or fleshy,
or membranous, or modified into spines; petiolate to sessile;
*non-sheathing*; gland-dotted, or not gland-dotted; simple (usually), or
compound; *not peltate*; *when compound, **palmate*. Lamina entire;
pinnately veined, or palmately veined. *Leaves* *stipulate (nearly
always, but the stipules sometimes reduced to branched hairlike
structures, or to glands)*. Stipules scaly, or leafy, or spiny, or
represented by glands; caducous, or persistent. Leaves without a
persistent basal meristem. Domatia occurring in the family (from 7
genera); manifested as pits, or pockets, or hair tufts (rarely).

*General anatomy. *Plants with laticifers (commonly, articulated or
non-articulated), or without laticifers (absent notably from the
Phyllanthoideae).

*Leaf anatomy. *Mucilaginous epidermis present, or absent. Stomata
mainly confined to one surface, or on both surfaces; anomocytic, or
anisocytic, or paracytic. Urticating hairs present (in a few lianes), or
absent.

/*Lamina*/ dorsiventral, or isobilateral, or centric; *without secretory
cavities*. The mesophyll with sclerencymatous idioblasts, or without
sclerenchymatous idioblasts. Minor leaf veins without phloem transfer
cells (/Euphorbia/).

*Stem anatomy. *Cork cambium present; initially deep-seated (rarely), or
superficial. Nodes tri-lacunar, or unilacunar. Primary vascular tissue
bicollateral, or centrifugal. Cortical bundles present (occasionally),
or absent. Medullary bundles present (occasionally), or absent. Internal
phloem present (occasionally), or absent. Secondary thickening
developing from a conventional cambial ring (mostly, even in lianes), or
anomalous; from a single cambial ring. The secondary phloem stratified
into hard (fibrous) and soft (parenchymatous) zones (very rarely. e.g.
in /Bridelia/), or not stratified. ?Included? phloem present
(occasionally, e.g. /Dalechampia/), or absent. Xylem with libriform
fibres. Vessel end-walls scalariform, or simple (usually). Vessels with
vestured pits (rarely), or without vestured pits. Wood parenchyma
apotracheal, or paratracheal (or very sparse, or absent).

*Reproductive type, pollination. *Plants monoecious, or dioecious, or
hermaphrodite (very rarely: species of /Drypetes/, /Aporosa/).
Pollination entomophilous.

*Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. *Flowers aggregated
in ?inflorescences?. *The terminal inflorescence unit* *nearly always
**cymose (commonly the first branching racemose, with all the subsequent
branching cymose)*. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary; with
involucral bracts, or without involucral bracts; pseudanthial, or not
pseudanthial. Flowers bracteate, or ebracteate (?); minute, or small, or
medium-sized; regular. Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk present
(commonly), or absent; of separate members, or annular.

/*Perianth*/ *sepaline, or vestigial, or absent, or petaline
(occasionally)*; when present, (3?)5?6(?12); free, or joined; 1 whorled
(usually), or 2 whorled (sometimes ? e.g. /Jatropha/); when two-whorled,
isomerous. *Calyx* *5*; polysepalous, or gamosepalous; regular.
*Corolla* when present, 5; *polypetalous*; regular.

/Androecium/ 1?1000 (i.e. to ?many?). *Androecial members* branched
(e.g. /Ricinus/), or unbranched; *free of the perianth*; free of one
another, or coherent (may be free or united in a variety of ways).
Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 1?1000; reduced in
number relative to the adjacent perianth to polystemonous; erect in bud,
or inflexed in bud. *Anthers* dehiscing via longitudinal slits, or
dehiscing via pores (rarely with apical pores); *extrorse, or introrse*;
bilocular to four locular; bisporangiate, or tetrasporangiate.
Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. Microsporogenesis
simultaneous. The initial microspore tetrads tetrahedral, or
isobilateral, or decussate. Anther wall initially with one middle layer,
or initially with more than one middle layer; of the ?dicot? type, or of
the ?monocot? type. Tapetum amoeboid, or glandular. Pollen grains
aperturate, or nonaperturate (rarely); 3 aperturate (commonly), or 4?30
aperturate (?); colpate, or colporate, or foraminate, or rugate;
2-celled, or 3-celled.

/Gynoecium/ (2?)3 carpelled, or 4?30 carpelled (rarely). *The pistil*
*(2?)3 celled, or 4?30 celled (rarely)*. *Gynoecium* *syncarpous*;
synovarious, or synstylovarious; *superior*. *Ovary* *(2?)3 locular, or
4?30 locular (rarely)*. *Styles* *3 (usually), or 6(?12) (or more)*;
free, or partially joined (to almost completely joined, in the
Phyllantheae); apical. Stigmas 3 (usually), or 6(?12) (or more); dry
type; papillate, or non-papillate; Group II type. Placentation axile, or
apical. *Ovules* *1 per locule, or 2 per locule*; pendulous; *mostly
**epitropous*; with ventral raphe (usually), or with dorsal raphe; when
two, collateral; arillate (often carunculate, the caruncle often
covering the micropyle, the caruncle often covering the micropyle), or
non-arillate; orthotropous, or anatropous, or hemianatropous; bitegmic;
crassinucellate. Outer integument usually contributing to the micropyle.
Embryo-sac development /Polygonum/-type, or /Allium/-type, or
/Drusa/-type, or /Fritillaria/-type, or /Penaea/-type. Antipodal cells
formed; initially 3; proliferating (to 5 cells, in /Jatropha/), or not
proliferating. Synergids pear-shaped, or hooked (rarely with filiform
apparatus). Hypostase present. Endosperm formation nuclear. *Embryogeny*
*onagrad (usually), or solanad, or piperad*.

/Fruit/ non-fleshy (usually), or fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent, or a
schizocarp (usually). Mericarps when schizocarpic, (2?)3 (usually,
usually dehiscent), or 4?30 (?). *Fruit* *when non-schizocarpic, **a
capsule, or a drupe*; elastically dehiscent (schizocarpic capsules often
splitting elastically), or passively dehiscent. *Seeds* *endospermic
(nearly always)*. Endosperm oily. Cotyledons 2 (usually wider than the
radicle); flat, or folded. Embryo chlorophyllous (4/6), or
achlorophyllous (8/10 ? /Euphorbia/ being variable); straight, or curved.

*Seedling. *Germination phanerocotylar, or cryptocotylar.

*Physiology, biochemistry. *Mustard-oils present (/Drypetes/,
/Putranjiva/), or absent. Cyanogenic, or not cyanogenic. Cynogenic
constituents tyrosine-derived, or phenylalanine-derived (?), or of
Hegnauer?s ?Group C?. Alkaloids present (commonly), or absent. Iridoids
not detected. Arthroquinones detected (/Clutia/); polyacetate derived.
Proanthocyanidins present (rarely), or absent; when present, cyanidin
and delphinidin (in one /Phyllanthus/ species). Flavonols present, or
absent; kaempferol, or kaempferol and quercetin. Ellagic acid present (4
species, 3 genera), or absent (8 species, 5 genera). Arbutin absent.
Saponins/sapogenins present (rarely), or absent. Aluminium accumulation
demonstrated (but in relatively few genera), or not found. Sugars
transported as sucrose (e.g. in /Aleurites/, /Sapium/), or as sugar
alcohols + oligosaccharides + sucrose (e.g. /Phyllanthus/, /Ricinus/).
*Inulin* *recorded (/Aleurites/, Gibbs 1974)*. C_3 , C_4 , and CAM. C_3
physiology recorded directly in /Argythamnia/, /Euphorbia/,
/Phyllanthus/, /Ricinus/. C_4 physiology recorded directly in
/Chamaesyce/, /Euphorbia/. CAM recorded directly in /Euphorbia/,
/Monadenium/, /Pedilanthus/, /Synadenium/. Anatomy C_4 type
(/Euphorbia/), or non-C_4 type (/Acalypha/, /Dalechampia/, /Croton/,
/Euphorbia/, /Hevea/, /Jatropha/, /Manihot/, /Meineckia/, /Micrococca/,
/Phyllanthus/, /Ricinus/, /Tragia/, /Tragiella/).

*Geography, cytology. *Temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical.
Cosmopolitan, except Arctic. /X/ = 6?14 (or more).

*Taxonomy. *Subclass Dicotyledonae; Crassinucelli. Dahlgren?s Superorder
Malviflorae; Euphorbiales. Cronquist?s Subclass Rosidae; Euphorbiales.
APG (1998) Eudicot; core Eudicot; Rosid; Eurosid I; Malpighiales.
Species 5000. Genera about 300; /Acalypha/, /Acidocroton/, /Acidoton/,
/Actephila/, /Adelia/, /Adenochlaena/, /Adenocline/, /Adenopeltis/,
/Adenophaedra/, /Adriana/, /Aerisilvaea/, /Afrotrewia/,
/Agrostistachys/, /Alchornea/, /Alchorneopsis/, /Aleurites/,
/Algernonia/, /Alphandia/, /Amanoa/, /Amperea/, /Amyrea/, /Andrachne/,
/Angostyles/, /Annesijoa/, /Anomalocalyx/, /Anthostema/, /Aparisthium/,
/Apodiscus/, /Aporusa/, /Argomuellera/, /Argythamnia/, /Aristogeitonia/,
/Ashtonia/, /Astrocasia/, /Astrococcus/, /Austrobuxus/, /Avellanita/,
/Baccaurea/, /Baliospermum/, /Baloghia/, /Benoistia/, /Bernardia/,
/Bertya/, /Beyeria/, /Blachia/, /Blotia/, /Blumeodendron/,
/Bocquillonia/, /Bonania/, /Borneodendron/, /Bossera/, /Botryophora/,
/Breynia/, /Bridelia/, /Calycopeplus/, /Canaca/, /Caperonia/,
/Caryodendron/, /Casabitoa/, /Calvacoa/, /Celaenodendron/, /Celianella/,
/Cephalocroton/, /Cephalomappa/, /Chaetocarpus/, /Chascotheca/,
/Cheilosa/, /Chiropetalum/, /Chlamydojatropha/, /Chondrostylis/,
/Chonocentrum/, /Choriceras/, /Chrozophora/, /Cladogelonium/,
/Cladogynos/, /Claoxylon/, /Claoxylopsis/, /Cleidiocarpon/, /Cleidion/,
/Cleistanthus/, /Clutia/, /Cnesmone/, /Cnidoscolus/, /Cocconerion/,
/Codiaeum/, /Colliguaja/, /Conceveiba/, /Cordemoya/, /Croizatia/,
/Croton/, /Crotonogyne/, /Crotonogynopsis/, /Crotonopsis/, /Ctenomeria/,
/Cubanthus/, /Cyrtogonone/, /Cyttaranthus/, /Dalechampia/,
/Dalembertia/, /Deuteromallotus/, /Deutzianthus/, /Dichostemma/,
/Dicoelia/, /Didymocistus/, /Dimorphocalyx/, /Discocarpus/,
/Discoclaoxylon/, /Dicocleidion/, /Discoglypremna/, /Dissiliaria/,
/Ditaxis/, /Ditta/, /Dodecastigma/, /Domohinea/, /Doryxylon/,
/Droceloncia/, /Drypetes/, /Duvigneaudia/, /Dysopsis/, /Elaeophorbia/,
/Elateriospermum/, /Eleutherostigma/, /Endadenium/, /Endospermum/,
/Enriquebeltrania/, /Epiprinus/, /Eremocarpus/, /Erismanthus/,
/Erythrococca/, /Euphorbia/, /Excoecaria/, /Fahrenheitia/, /Flueggea/,
/Fontainea/, /Garcia/, /Gavarretia/, /Givotia/, /Glochidion/,
/Glycydendron/, /Glyphostylus/, /Grimmeodendron/, /Grossera/,
/Gymnanthes/, /Haematostemon/, /Hamilcoa/, /Hevea/, /Heywoodia/,
/Hippomane/, /Homonoia/, /Hura/, /Hyaenanche/, /Hieronima/, /Hylandia/,
/Jablonskia/, /Jatropha/, /Joannesia/, /Kairothamnus/, /Keayodendron/,
/Klaineanthus/, /Koilodepas/, /Lachnostylis/, /Lasiococca/,
/Lasiocroton/, /Lautembergia/, /Leeuwenbergia/, /Leidesia/, /Leptonema/,
/Leptopus/, /Leucocroton/, /Lingelsheimia/, /Lobanilia/, /Loerzingia/,
/Longetia/, /Mabea/, /Macaranga/, /Maesobotrya/, /Mallotus/, /Manihot/,
/Manihotoides/, /Manniophyton/, /Maprounea/, /Mareya/, /Mareyopsis/,
/Margaritaria/, /Martretia/, /Megistostigma/, /Meineckia/,
/Melanolepis/, /Mercurialis/, /Micrandra/, /Micrandropsis/,
/Micrantheum/, /Micrococca/, /Mildbraedia/, /Mischodon/, /Moacroton/,
/Monadenium/, /Monotaxis/, /Moultonianthus/, /Myladenia/, /Myricanthe/,
/Nealchornea/, /Necepsia/, /Neoboutonia/, /Neoguillauminia/,
/Neoholstia/, /Neoroepera/, /Neoscortechinia/, /Neotrewia/,
/Octospermum/, /Oldfieldia/, /Oligoceras/, /Omalanthus/, /Omphalea/,
/Omphellantha/, /Ophthalmoblapton/, /Oreoporanthera/, /Ostodes/,
/Pachystroma/, /Pachystylidium/, /Pantadenia/, /Paradrypetes/,
/Paranecepsia/, /Parapantadenia/, /Parodiodendron/, /Pausandra/,
/Pedilanthus/, /Pentabrachion/, /Petalodiscus/, /Petalostigma/,
/Philyra/, /Phyllanoa/, /Phyllanthus/, /Pimelodendron/, /Piranhea/,
/Plagiostyles/, /Platygyna/, /Plukenetia/, /Podadenia/, /Podocalyx/,
/Pogonophora/, /Poilaniella/, /Polyandra/, /Poranthera/,
/Protomegabaria/, /Pseudagrostistachys/, /Pseudanthus/, /Pseudocroton/,
/Pseudolachnostylis/, /Pterococcus/, /Ptychopyxis/, /Putranjiva/,
/Pycnocoma/, /Reutealis/, /Reverchonia/, /Richeria/, /Richeriella/,
/Ricinocarpus/, /Ricinodendron/, /Ricinus/, /Rockinghamia/, /Romanoa/,
/Sagotia/, /Sampantea/, /Sandwithia/, /Sapium/, /Sauropus/, /Savia/,
/Scagea/, /Schinziophyton/, /Sebastiania/, /Securinega/, /Seidelia/,
/Senefeldera/, /Senefelderopsis/, /Sibangea/, /Spathiostemon/,
/Speranksia/, /Sphaerostylis/, /Sphyranthera/, /Spirostachys/,
/Spondianthus/, /Stachyandra/, /Stachystemon/, /Stillingia/,
/Strophioblachia/, /Sumbaviopsis/, /Suregada/, /Symphyllia/,
/Synandenium/, /Syndyophyllum/, /Tacaruna/, /Tannodia/, /Tapoides/,
/Tetracoccus/, /Tetraplandra/, /Tetrorchidium/, /Thecacoris/,
/Thyrsanthera/, /Tragia/, /Tragiella/, /Trevia/, /Trigonopleura/,
/Trigonostemon/, /Vaupesia/, /Vernicia/, /Vigia/, /Voatamalo/, /Wetria/,
/Whyanbeelia/, /Wielandia/, /Zimmermannia/, /Zimmermanniopsis/.

*Economic uses, etc. *Commercial products include rubber (/Hevea/), tung
oil (/Aleurites/), castor oil (/Ricinus/), and cassava and tapioca
(/Manihot/). Many ornamentals, especially from /Euphorbia/ (poinsettia,
etc.), /Codiaeum/ (croton), /Phyllanthus/ (Otaheite gooseberry).

*Illustrations. *? Mercurialis, Euphorbia <../images/eupho01.jpg>.
? Mercurialis annua <../images/bent218.jpg>. ? Technical details, from
Thonner (Phyllanthus) <../images/eupho309.gif>. ? Technical details
(Amperea, Ricinocarpos) <../images/eupho688.gif>. ? Technical details
(Poranthera, Pseudanthus) <../images/eupho689.gif>. ? Technical details:
Xylophylla (= Phyllanthus), Bridelia, Ricinus, Stillingia)
<../images/eupho690.gif>. ? Technical details: (Mercurialis, Ditaxis,
Cluytia (= Clutia), Baliospermum) <../images/eupho691.gif>. ? Technical
details (Hippomane, Hura, Calycopeplus, Caelebogyne)
<../images/eupho693.gif>. ? Technical details (Euphorbia)
<../images/eupho694.gif>.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This description is offered for casual browsing only. We strongly advise
against extracting comparative information from it. This is much more
easily achieved using the interactive key <ident.htm>, which allows
access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial
descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities
between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting specified attributes, summaries
of attributes within groups of taxa, geographical distribution, genera
included in each family, classifications (Dahlgren; Dahlgren, Clifford,
and Yeo; Cronquist; APG), and notes on the APG classification.

Cite this publication as: ?Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 1992 onwards.
The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations,
identification, and information retrieval. Version: 9th September 2008.
http://delta-intkey.com?.

*Contents* <../index.htm>

