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-> Cactus & Succulents -> Other Succulents

Author: Meena Singh

The family Euphorbiaceae, made up of nearly 5000 species arranged in 321 genera, is distributed nearly over the entire globe. A cosmopolitan and heterogenous family of herbs, shrubs, or trees, its members have practically no common or shared characteristics. Leaves are mostly opposite, sometimes alternate. Unisexual flowers, their one unifying characteristic, are "simple" and structurally reduced. Fruits are three lobed capsules that burst on maturity, releasing a seed from each lobe.

Some tribes within the family, including the tribe Euphorbieae, share another characteristic, that is, a milky white fluid or latex that flows copiously from any cut surface. This is acrid and generally poisonous and therefore protects the plants from predators.

The family Euphorbiaceae, poorly represented in European flora, can be found in great abundance in tropical countries. Certain genera like Manihot, Hevea, and Ricinus; sources of rubber, cassava and castor oil; are of great economic importance in these regions. Some species, mostly in the tribe Euphorbieae, inhabiting the arid regions of the tropics, have xerophytic habits and show succulence.

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