466 DODECGANDRIA TRIGYNIA. Euphorbia. 
Poot 
houses of the natives. Flowering time the months. of 
‘February and March; when perfectly destitute of otaaas ‘ 
ripe seed not seen, ; 
Root branchy. . Trunk when twenty years old, coma 
and scabrous, often a foot in diameter, the whole height of 
the largest trees seldom more than twenty feet. Branches 
scattered, ascending, having the young shoots constant- 
ly five-sided, angled, somewhat spirally disposed and 
armed with elevations like the teeth of the largest saw 5 
each of these supports a leaf, and a pair of short, sharp, 
black, hard, stipulary thorns. Like the other species 
every part abounds with acrid milky juice, which is em- 
ployed toremove warts, cure cutaneous eruptions, &c. 
Leaves alternate, about the summits of the branches, 
short-petioled, inserted singly on the elevations, or set 
ratures of the angles of the branches, wedge-shaped, e- 
tire, waved, fleshy, smooth on both sides, almost vein- 
less from six to twelve inches long, and two or three 
broad, deciduous at the beginning of the cool season, 
and appearing again after the flowers decay, in March 
or April. Peduncles solitary in the sinuses between the 
serratures of the angles of the branchlets, short, once, 
twice, or thrice dichotomous, with a sessile flower in the 
forks, that is, bearing three, seven, or fifteen flowers. 
The sessile flower which is the largest, is often el- 
tirely male, the lateral, or terminal peduncled ones 
have always been found to contain one pistil ; and 
male florets. Flowers middling sized, greenish yellow. 
Bractes reniform, opposite, embracing the base of the 
pedicels on the outside, withering.  Calyx* five pith 
7) Zhe calyx and corol, as hinted. by that excelent Botan 
Jussieu, in his Genera Plantarum, page 424, may be re 
a common perianth, “da Sasliers to asany janine 
a dds Henly bowen Pam or A eect: 
ee) 
