152 



FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 



are herbs or shrubs, in some regions leafless and fleshy, like cacti, 

 which they replace in the deserts of the Old World. Our species are 

 mostly herbs of weedy aspect. They frequently have the upper leaves 

 and bracts brilliantly colored, as in the familiar poinsettia, which is a 

 Euphorbia. E. marginata, represented in Fig. 131, belongs to this 

 class. 



Fig. 131. The white-margined spurge (Euphorbia marginata). Original. 



The milky juice which is found in members of this genus possesses 

 important medicinal properties. It is also very poisonous when taken 

 internally, though the poisonous principle may be dissipated by the 

 action of heat. A fair article of caovitchouc is made from the juice of 

 an East Indian species. 



Family Callitrichaceae. Water Starwort Family. These are 



