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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