l'2'2 EUPHOUBIACE.'E. (sPURGE FAMILY.) 



1. EUPHORBIA, L. Spi-kge. 



Flowers monoecious, destitute of calyx and corolla ; the siiif;le pistillate, 

 and several inouau<lrous staniinate ones included in a cup siiapedortop-siiaped 

 4-5-toothed involucre, which has commonly thick and often colored glands 

 between the teeth. Styles .'), 2-cleft. Capsule e.x.serted, 3-celled : carpels 2- 

 valved, 1-seedod. — A polymorphous genus, with acrid milky juice. 



§ 1. Leaces without sttjiules. 



* Stem erect, umbellate! i/ branched above : involucres solitary, terminal and in 

 the forks of the branches : leaves of the stem mostly alternate, those of the 

 branches ojiposite or whorled. 



■t- Glands of the involucre 5, tvith white petal-like appendages : leaves entire : 

 perennials {except No. 6). 



1. E. coroUata, L. Stem smooth or pubescent ; branches 4-6, twice or 

 thrice fnikin^, mostly short and fiustigiate ; leaves thick, oblong or oval, ob- 

 tuse, pale and mostly hairy beneath ; involucres jjedicelled ; appendages of the 

 (green) glands orbicular, showy; capsule and seed smooth. — Var. anolsti- 

 FOLIA, Ell. Stems slender ; branches mostly 3, forking, elongated, sjtreading ; 

 leaves varving from linear to obovate; involucres small, scattered; appen- 

 dages of the glands transversely oblong. — Dry rich soil ; the var. in sandy 

 pine barrens. July-Sept. — Stem l°-2°high. 



2. E. mercurialina, Michx. Like the preceding, but lower (i°-l° 

 high) ; leaves tiiinner, ovate or roundish ; appendages of the glands narrower; 

 seed oval, rugnlose. — Rocky woods in the ujiper districts. May- June. 



3. E. discoidalis, Cliapm. Smooth or pubescent ; brandies commonly 

 2, divaricate, fi irking ; leaves linear, obtuse, with the margins revolute ; invo- 

 lucres on slender pedicels ; glands ileep red, bordered by tlie narrow appen- 

 dage ; seeds oliovate, pale, minutely jiitted — Dry sandy pine barrens near the 

 coast. West Florida. Aug. - Oct. — Plant 6' - 1 8' high ; the stem much sliorter 

 than the branches. Leaves 2'-3' long, \" -2" wide. Involucres scattered. 



4. E. Curtisii, Engelra. Smooth ; stems filiform ; branches mostly 3, 

 erect, sparingly divided; leaves thin, linear or linear-oblong, obtuse, short- 

 petioled, spreading or recurved ; involucres minute, scattered, on long capil- 

 lary pedicels ; glands green, margined by the white crenate appendages ; 

 capsule erect, sliort-stalked, round-angled ; seed globo.se, smooth. — Low pine 

 barrens, Florida to North Carolina. August. — Plant 6' -9' high, sometimes 

 branching from the base. Leaves ^'-1^' long. 



•i. E. polyphylla, Engclm. (ined.). Glabrous; .stems erect, simple, or 

 branching from the ba.se, 3' - 6' high ; leaves very numerous, linear, obtuse, 

 6" - 9" long ; involucres mostly single, top-shaped ; appendages black, bordered 

 with white, crenate ; flowers villous ; styles 2 - 3, thick, entire ; capsule round- 

 ish ; seeds oval, smooth, white. — South Florida. 



6. E. marginata, Pursh. Annual; stem stout, 2° -3° high; leaves 

 ovate, mucron.Hte ; sessile, l'-2' long, the floral ones, like the apj)endages of 

 the top-shaped involucre, broadly bordered with white. — North Carolina. 

 Introduced from the West. 



