The Rosidae
Family Overview - The Euphorbiales
Euphorbiaceae - the Spurge Family
Diversity: One of the
largest (ca. 300 genera with over 7,500 species) most diverse dicot families.
It includes a wide range of flowering plant structural and life-cycle types,
i.e. herbs - including cactus-like stem succulents, shrubs, and trees.
Much of this range of variation is found within the type genus, Euphorbia,
which is one of the largest (over 2,000 species) of angiosperm genera.
Natural rubber is derived from Hevea brasiliensis and Manihot
esculenta is an important food crop of the tropics (cassava, tapioca).
Distribution: Worldwide
with centers of diversity in both temperate and tropical areas. We
have 19 genera with 136 species (5th
largest family) in Texas with quite a few endemic
to our flora.
Floral structure:
Significant features:
As indicated by Hevea, latex production is a major feature
of the family and a useful field character. Latex usually signals
toxicity and this is true for this family. The castor bean (Ricinus
communis) produces a compound (ricin) believed to be the
most toxic natural product. Two floral features provide good recognition
characters for the family; unisexual flowers
and a tricarpellate gynoecium with
each carpel containing a single seed.
The latter produces a three-lobed ovary and fruit that, when present on
a pistillate flower, is a very good key character. The seed often
shows a fleshy outgrowth from the integuments - known as a caruncle
- that often functions as an inducement for animal (usually ants) dispersal.
This is a good family to be able to recognize on sight, i.e., before
you are forced to use a key to families. This is especially true
if species of its largest genus - Euphorbia - are encountered.
As indicated by the distinct 'Euphorbia' floral formula above,
this genus has followed an evolutionary path that we will encounter again
with the largest and most specialized dicots; the Asteraceae.
It has involved extreme reduction of the flower BUT these reduced
flowers have become organized in an inflorescence, known as a cyathium,
that appears to be single flower.
Euphorbia
The
white structures pictured here are not petals and, in fact, not
of floral origin. These cyathia
are formed within a cup-like structure, possibly derived from connation
of an involucre of 4 to 5 bracts. Secretory structures or 'glands'
are positioned on the rim of this cup and, in most species, petaloid extensions
of these glands - known as appendages
- extend outward to form a corolla-like whorl. The imperfect flowers
are positioned within the cup and emerge at anthesis (uppermost
cyathium here) to mimic the gynoecium (actually a single, tricarpellate,
pistillate flower) and androecium (actually clusters of staminate flowers
that are each composed of just the pedicel and a single stamen) of a single
flower. The pistillate flower of the lowermost cyathium (annotated
here) shows the typical three-lobed ovary that - in combination with latex
production - provides key characters that allow those with an 'eye' of
this genus to avoid the key.
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Euphorbia antisyphilitica -
a perennial stem succulent of the Texas Big Bend with cyathia (right) |
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Euphorbia pulcherrima - poinsettia
- with showy bracts subtending the central
cluster of cyathia. The poinsettia cyathium (right)
has only a single gland (yellow with nectar drop) with no appendages
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Euphorbia bicolor - 'snow on the prairie'
found locally at open sites, often remnant prairies (especially along rt.
21 to Austin) which, like E. pulcherrima (above) features
showy bracts subtending clusters of cyathia:
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Cyathia/bracts
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Plants
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Maturing Pistillate Flower
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non - Euphorbia
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Ricinus communis - castor
bean - a monoecious (far right) annual
with carunculate seeds (right) and palmately veined/lobed leaves (left)
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Cnidoscolus texanus - 'bull nettle':
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Plant
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Stinging trichomes
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staminate flower
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pistillate flower
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More information on the Euphorbiaceae
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