1170 



EUPHORBIA 



EUPHORBIA 



1876:200. Var. alba, Hort., has the upper Ivs. white. 

 R.H. 1913 : 228. It is not so vigorous, blooms later 

 and requires more heat. 



9. heterophylla, Linn. (E. pandurata, Hort.? E. 

 havanensis, Willd. E. cyathophora, Murr.). MEXICAN 

 FIRE PLANT. HYPOCRITE PLANT. PAINTED LEAF. 



FlRE-ON-THE-MoUNTAIN. ANNUAL PoiNSETTIA. Fig. 



1441. Annual, nearly glabrous, 1-3 ft. high: Ive. ovate 

 and sinuate-toothed, or panduriform, or some of them 

 lanceolate or linear and entire, dark green, the upper 

 bright red at least at the base: involucres small with 

 1 or 2 glands. July-Sept. E. and Cent. U. S. to Peru. 

 Mn. 2, p. 53. Gt. 39, p. 105. Easily grown from seeds 

 in sunny gardens and also in pots indoors. White and 

 yellow variegated forms are in cult. 



BB. Sts. more or less fleshy, often cactus-like and spiny: 

 Ivs. small, none or soon deciduous: infl. few- 

 branched or cyathia single: stipules minute or none 

 (except in E. Fournieri). Section EUPHORBIUM. 

 Nos. 10-51. 



c. Branches cylindrical or angled, not thorny: If. -bases 

 not thickened and elevated as podaria: Ivs. alternate 

 or crowded on the angles. 



D. Joints or branches cylindrical or flat. Subsection 

 TIRUCALLI. 



10. Tirucallii, Linn. MILK-BUSH. INDIAN TREE 

 SPURGE. A small tree, with a dense crown of slender, 

 cylindrical whorled branches, curving outward then 

 erect: joints about 4 in. long, twigs J^-^in. thick: 

 Ivs. narrow, about 1 in. long, soon falling. S. Asia. 

 A striking plant for the succulent collection. Easy of 

 cult., often grown outdoors in warm regions. 



11. rhipsaloides, Lem., is a closely related African 

 species probably not now in cult., but the name is in 

 use in the trade. 



12. xylophylloides, Brongn. Shrub or tree: trunk 

 cylindrical, much branched; branches flat or 2-angled, 

 J^in. wide, slightly toothed along the edges: Ivs. 

 minute, soon deciduous. Madagascar. 



DD. Joints or branches 4-5-angled from the decurrent 

 If. -bases or comb-like rows of stipules. Subsection 

 GONIOSTEMA (No. 13) and Subsection PTERON- 



EUR,E (No. 14). 



13. Fournieri, Andre". St. 4-5-angled, the crowded 

 persistent stipules forming comb-like rows on the 

 angles: Ivs. large at the apex of the short thick sts.; 

 petioles and stipules red. Madagascar region. R.H. 

 1896, p. 226. L.B.C. 15:1477 (as E. lophogona). 



14. pteroneura, Berger. A low shrub 

 with erect, jointed branches, Kin. thick, 

 the 5-6 angles formed by sharp low 

 ridges decurrent from the If .-bases: 

 Ivs. reduced, soon deciduous. Mex. (?) 

 Erroneously grown under the name of 

 E. colletioldes, Benth. 



cc. Branches succulent with thickened 

 elevated If. -bases (podaria'). 



D. Spines 1-2 on each side 



the If. -base. Subsection 



DlACANTHIUM. N O S . 



15-38. 



E. Podaria (If. -bases') not 



united into ribs; 

 branches nearly cylin- 

 drical: Ivs. well developed. 

 F. Bracts bright red. Class 



SPLENDENTES. 

 15. splendens, Bojer. 

 CROWN OF THORNS. Fig. 

 1442. Sts. 3-4 ft. long, H-l 

 in. thick, somewhat climb- 

 ing, covered with stout 



spines about an inch long: Ivs. few, on the young 

 growth, obovate to oblong-spatulate, thin, bright 

 green, 1-2 in. long: cyathia in long-peduncled dicho- 

 tomous cymes, near the ends of the branches, each 

 closely subtended by 2 broadly ovate bright red 

 bracts. Madagascar. Flowering all the year but 

 mostly in winter. B.M. 2902. L.B.C. 18:1713. V. 



1442. Euphorbia 

 splendens. ( X Ji) 



1443. Euphorbia neriifolia. 



2, p. 74; 14, p. 16. G.C. II. 19:816 (as E. jacquinise- 

 flora'). Coolhouse plant. The red bracts in the green 

 Ivs. on the sinuous spiny sts. are very striking. It can 

 be trained into ornamental forms. The seedlings have 

 larger sts. and Ivs. and double spines, a smaller one 

 below each of the ordinary ones. 



FF. Bracts not conspicuously colored. 

 Class GRANDIFOLLE. 



16. neriiffilia, Linn. Fig. 1443. Arborescent or 

 shrubby: st. obtusely 5-angled; the small mammiform 

 podaria in rows, with short, dark-colored, divergent 

 spines: branches somewhat whorled, bearing obovate- 

 oblong, obtuse, thick Ivs., 3-5 in. long, at the summit: 

 small sessile cymes of greenish cyathia in the upper 

 axils. June, July. E.Indies. Gn.M. 6:196. The large 

 Ivs. persistent from autumn to spring. Cristate forms 

 are in cult. Fig. 1443 shows a hedge in W. Indies. 



17. drupffera, Schum. & Thonn. (E. grandifolia, 

 Haw.). Arborescent: st. terete: branches obsoletely 

 4-5-angled; spines small: Ivs. terminal, obovate- 

 cuneate, obtuse or retuse, 6-10 in. long: small cymes 

 axillary, peduncled: caps, drupaceous. Guinea. 



18. mammilldsa, Lem. Low, cespitose: branches less 

 than an inch diam.: podaria elongated, conical, in 5 

 spiral rows: Ivs. and spines small, soon deciduous. 

 Nativity unknown. Rare in cult, and not well known. 

 Probably the plants grown under this name are some- 

 thing else. 



EE. Podaria united into ribs: branches %-13-angled: 



Ivs. usually very small or rudimentary. 

 F. Angles of the branches, 2 (rarely 3), the branches 



flattened. Class COMPRESS^;. 



. 19. alcicornis, Baker. St. obtusely 5-angled, 9 ft. 

 high or less: branches flat, except the triangular base, 

 3^in. broad: spines short, slender, dark-colored. 

 Madagascar. 



FF. Angles of the branches 3 (sometimes 4), but the main 



st. often 5-angled. Class TRIGON^E. 



G. Sides of branches solid green-colored. 



H. Spine-shields separated by green tissue of ribs. 



20. antiqu6rum, Linn. Shrub, 8-10 ft. high : branches 

 erect, jointed, 1-2 in. thick, the angles repand-dentate; 

 spine pairs about 1 in. apart; spines 1-3 lines long: Ivs. 

 very small, roundish. India. See E. lactea, No. 23. 



21. grandidens, Haw. Tree, to 30 ft. high, with 

 trunk as much as 2 ft. diam.: branches slender, 



