Family | Euphorbiaceae

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Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, are herbs, but some, especially ones found in the tropics, are shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti, such as the crown of thorns. This family, with it many species, is found throughout the world, but occurs mainly in the tropics. 

Euphorbia

Spurge

Euphorbia  'Ascot Rainbow'

Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow'

Mediterranean Spurge

Euphorbia  'Characias' 

Euphorbia Characias

Native to the Balkans, the Mediterranean spurge or Albanian spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the Euphorbiaceae family typical of the Mediterranean vegetation. It is an upright, compact statuesque evergreen sub-shrub with year-round interest, growing to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall and wide. Mediterranean Spurge displays months of chartreuse flowers. 

Flame of Jamaica

Euphorbia  punicea

Flame of Jamaica (Euphorbia punicea)

Crown of Thorns

Euphorbia  milii

Crown of thorns, Euphorbia milii

Euphorbia milii, the crown of thorns,  is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, native to Madagascar. 

Crown of thorns, Euphorbia milii

Poinsettia

Euphorbia  pulcherrima

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Manihot

The

Cassava or Tapioca Plant

Manihot esculenta

As you see the sun setting, the tree trunks absorb and reflect the soft rays.  The Tapioca 'Variegata' (Manihot esculenta) is perfectly situated to delight the eyes and pull your attention to the yellow reeds sitting at their base. Green carpet, then a dark purple planting delineates the border or edge to frame the bed. Manihot esculenta is considered a native to Brazil and Paraguay and has been cultivated and hybridized as a food plant, but this ornamental variegated plant adds serpentine lines in the mass plantings.

Tapioca 'Variegata' (Manihot esculenta)
Yellow Reeds, Chihuly Glass Exhibit
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, 2012 

Tapioca 'Variegata' (Manihot esculenta)

Yellow Reeds, Chihuly Glass Exhibit

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, 2012

Tapioca 'Variegata' (Manihot esculenta)

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, 2012

Manihot Esculenta Botanical Print.

Manihot esculenta Crantz [as Jatropha manihot L.] 
M.E. Descourtilz, Flore médicale des Antilles, vol. 3: t. 176 (1827)
[J.T. Descourtilz]Source: Botanicus, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis

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Croton

Croton

Codiaeum variegatum

Croton 'Mammy' (Codiaeum variegatum 'Mammy')

Croton 'Mammy' (Codiaeum variegatum 'Mammy')

Bibliography_____________________________________

• Burger, William, and Michael Huft. 'euphorbiaceae'. Chicago Ill: Field Museum of Natural History, 1995. Print.
• Euphorbiaceae. Berlin: Cramer, 1997. Print.
• Klucking, Edward P. Euphorbiaceae. Berlin: J. Cramer, 1997. Print.
• Smith, Alan R, and Alan R. Smith. Euphorbiaceae: 2. Rotterdam: Balkema, 1988. Print.
• Smith, A R, and Susan Carter. Euphorbiaceae. Published on behalf of the East African governments by Balkema, 1988. Print.
• Wheeler, Louis C. Euphorbiaceae. , n.d.. Print.

Grassroots Horticulture

2021

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Crown of Thorns | Euphorbia Milii

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Crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii) is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae.. It is a wood succulent shrub native to Madagascar. 

The genus name, Euphorbia, honors the Greek physician, Euphorbus (52 B.C. - 23 A.D.).The specific epithet honors Baron Milius, one-time Governor of the island of Bourbon, who reportedly introduced this species to cultivation in France in 1821.Botanical illustrations are available to easily identify a species of interest through The Biodiversity Library.The Biodiversity Library is searchable not only by author and title but chronologically by date, collection, and contributor. I have chosen the Madagascar Native, Euphorbia Milili, to feature below.

1816

Euphorbia milii Des Moul.
 [as Euphorbia splendens Bojer ex Hook.]
Curtis's Botanical Magazine, vol. 56 [ser. 2, vol. 3]: t. (1816)

Euphorbia milii Des Moul.

Gordan Gee

This collection of botanical illustrations is the work of

Gordon Gee who for 18 years worked at the

 Christchurch Botanic Gardens as a sign writer

1829

Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, vol. 56
[ser. 2, vol. 3]: t. 2902 (1829) 

1836

Euphorbia milii Des Moul.
 [as Euphorbia bojeri Hook.]
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, vol. 63 [ser. 2, vol. 10]:
 t. 3527 (1836) 

1841

Charles Henry Dessalines d'Orbigny

Dictionnaire universel d’histoire naturelle, 

plates vol. 3, t. 15[Dicotylédones 15]

 (1841-1849)

http://plantillustrations.org/volume.php?id_volume=5439

References.                                                               

Family | Euphorbiaceae

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©  2020 Hyden Photography for

~Grassroots Horticulture~

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Euphorbia Characias

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Euphorbia Characias

Family | Euphorbiacea

Grassroots Horticulture

2006-2016

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Flame of Jamaica | Euphorbia Punicea

Flame of Jamaica

1. On a stroll through the San Antonio Botanical Garden Conservatory the tropical Euphorbia was showing a lovely bloom. If you think this plant looks a lot like the poinsettia there is good reason. The poinsettia, which is a commercially important plant sold during the Christmas season, belongs to a diverse plant family, the spurges. The poinsettias  are indigenous to Mexico and the flame of Jamaica is indigenous to the Caribbean Island of Jamaica. The yellow portion of the plant is the flower and the red portions are bracts. 

Flame of Jamaica, a lovely relative of the poinsettia, is an evergreen, almost ever-blooming shrub native only to that Caribbean island. Known in the tropics as Jamaican poinsettia, established specimens are fairly drought tolerant but benefit from irrigation during hot, dry periods in spring and autumn. Planting sites must be well drained and — because flame of Jamaica is as tender to cold as the poinsettia — shielded from north and northwest winds. 

The flame of Jamaica was first described by Olof Peter Swartz in his Nova genera et species plantarum seu prodromus.

James Edward Smith and James Sowerby

- Icones pictae plantarum rariorum descriptionibus et observationibus illustratae 

Auctore J.E. Smith, M.D. Fasc. 1-3.  Plate from book

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See more Spurges

Bibliography______________________________________________________   

Swartz, Olof. Nova Genera Et Species Plantarum: Seu Prodromus Descriptionum Vegetabilium ... Quae Sub Itinere in Indiam Occidentalem Annis 1783-1787 Digessit. Holmiae, 1788. Print.

Electronic version at the Missouri Botanical Garden

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©  2020 Hyden Photography for

~Grassroots Horticulture ~

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POINSETTIA

The poinsettia (/pɔɪnˈsɛtiə/ or /pɔɪnˈsɛtə/) (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is a commercially important plant species of the diverse spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia was first described by Europ÷eans in 1834. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in Christmas floral displays. It derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who is credited with introducing the plant to the US in the 1820s. Poinsettias are shrubs or small trees, with heights of 0.6–4 m (2.0–13.1 ft). 

Wild poinsettias occur from Mexico to southern Guatemala, growing on mid-elevation, Pacific-facing slopes. One population in the Mexican state of Guerrero is much further inland, however, and is thought to be the ancestor of most cultivated populations. Wild poinsettia populations are highly fragmented, as their habitat is experiencing largely unregulated deforestation. They were cultivated by the Aztecs for use in traditional medicine. They became associated with the Christmas holiday and are popular seasonal decorations. Every year in the US, approximately 70 million poinsettias of many cultivated varieties are sold in a six-week period. Many of these poinsettias are grown by Paul Ecke Ranch, which serves half the worldwide market and 70% of the US market.

The poinsettia was described as a new species in 1834 by German scientist Johann Friedrich Klotzsch. Klotzsch credited Carl Ludwig Willdenow with the species name "pulcherrima", and the authority is given as Willd. ex Klotzsch. The holotype had been collected in Mexico during an 1803–1804 expedition by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland.

It was known by the common name "poinsettia" as early as 1836, derived from Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and the first US Minister to Mexico. Possibly as early as 1826, Poinsett began sending poinsettias from Mexico back to his greenhouses in South Carolina. Prior to poinsettia, it was known as "Mexican flame flower" or "painted leaf".

Euphorbia pulcherrima is a shrub or small tree, typically reaching a height of 0.6–4 metres (2–13 ft). The plant bears dark green dentate leaves that measure 7–16 centimetres (2.8–6.3 in) in length. The colored bracts—which are normally flaming red, with cultivars being orange, pale green, cream, pink, white, or marbled—are often mistaken for flower petals because of their groupings and colors, but are actually leaves. The colors of the bracts are created through photoperiodism, meaning that they require darkness (at least fourteen hours at a time for 6–8 weeks in a row) to change color. The plants also require abundant light during the day for the brightest color.

The flowers of the poinsettia are unassuming. They are grouped within the cyathia (small yellow structures found in the center of each leaf bunch, or false flowers). Nothing is known about pollination in wild poinsettias, though wasps are noted to occasionally visit the cyathia. All flowers in the Euphorbiaceae are unisexual (either male or female only), and they are often very small in size. In Euphorbia, the flowers are reduced even more and then aggregated into an inflorescence or cluster of flowers.

Aztec people use the plant to produce red dye and as an antipyretic medication. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is called Cuetlaxochitl, meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil" Today it is known in Mexico and Guatemala as flor de Nochebuena or simply nochebuena, meaning 'Christmas Eve flower'. In Spain it is known as Flor de Pascua or Pascua, meaning Easter flower. In Chile and Peru, the plant became known as the crown of the Andes.

The plant's association with Christmas began in 16th-century Mexico, where legend tells of a girl, commonly called Pepita or María, who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday and was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became poinsettias.  From the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations. The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, and the red color represents the blood sacrifice of Jesus's crucifixion.

Poinsettias are popular Christmas decorations in homes, churches, offices, and elsewhere across North America, as a result of an extensive marketing campaign by the Ecke family that began by shipping free poinsettias to television stations for use on-air. In the US, December 12 is National Poinsettia Day, marking the anniversary of Joel Roberts Poinsett's death.

References.                                                                

Wikipedia

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for 

~Grassroots Horticulture~  __________________________________________________