564 



EUPHORBIA 



spines short. Trop. Afr.-See E. Tinicalli for somo 

 plants sold under this name. 



23. officinimm, Linn. Fruticose: branches 2H-3 in. 

 thick, 9-13-angled, deeply sulcate; edgesrepand; spines 

 red, divergent or deflexed, 1-1 J^ lines long: Ivs. minute. 

 N. Afr. R.H. 1875: 336-37. -E. Beaumeriana, Hook. & 

 Coss., and £. echinus, Hook. & Coss., are closely re- 

 lated species from the same region. 



CCC. Branches with spines, if any, not stipular, hut in 



the place of Ivs. or branches 



D. Spines not present. 



24. Ciput-MedilssB, Linn. Medusa's Head. Stem 

 short, obconical, iieshy: branches numornus trnm tli-' 

 apex, soon declined around the main stem wnli i1m ir 

 ends erect, J-2 in. or more iudi.ira., G-12 in. I'm^. <ii\ > i ^ 4 

 with depressed, kiM-li-d tubercles, each be:irini, a small. 

 linear-bill.', .lat. 1, ,f; -limls nf the involucre wliite, 



rather , ■';. ..nt.r lip palmatifid. S. Afr. 



L.B.C. II : . .11, an. I rather rare. Var. mijor, 



Ait. (/,'.' . „ . , I " . I, is a birge, erect, unbranched 

 form, perliaj. .iri^^aann- I'r.jm branch cuttings. 



25. meloJ6rmis, Ait. Fig. 799. Globose or pyriform, 

 3-5 in. in diam., deeply 8-10-costate, the ribs obscurely 

 tuberculate on the almost acute angles, the sides trans- 

 versely dark and light 

 green striped or wrinkled 

 when old: the few small 

 Ivs. and fls. at the de- 

 pressed apex : the old 

 forked branches of the 

 inflorescence subpersis- 

 teiit but not spinose. A 

 tew small branches simi- 

 lar to the main stem usu- 

 ally present. S. Afr. L.B. 

 C. 5:43G. A.G. 11:403. -A 

 very interesting and rare 

 plant in Araer. Best grown 

 only under glass. Often 

 mistaken for a cactus. 



799. Euphorbia mcloformis. 



DD. Spini-s formed of the sterile pednncles. 



26. cereifbrmis. r.i.n. , /;, , ,..,,/. Will.l.), Erect. 3 ft. 

 or more high. liiil. ' . i ■ ' . I ..ran.-le-^ .■re.-t. « ith ,S-13 



tuberculate rib^ : ' all: iieilumles usually 



with only one iin_..i .. ..-.iL. -i.ial e-s f..niiiii;.' dark 



colored spines 4-1 iin.-,^ i.-i,;;. S. Afr. L.H.f'. If:i;:;U.— 

 E. poljgona. Haw., witli more prominent an.l -|iiral 

 ribs, and E. heptigona. Linn., with 7-8 ril.s ami -iil.i 

 between them more obtuse, are closely relafi .1 ^..uth 

 African species. 



27. Hystrix, Jacq. A shrub, 2-3 ft. high, not ribbed: 

 podaria depressed: Ivs. 2-3 in. long, linear ; spines nu- 

 merous, 1-2 in. long, erect-spreading. S. Afr. Jacfi. 

 Hort. Schrenb. 207. 



EUPHORBIA 



30. B^gis-Jubae, Webb. Like the last, but Ivs. nar- 

 rowly linear and bracts not dark purple ; involucral 

 gland with 2 short horns. Teneriffe. 



31. dendroides, Linn. A large, branching sbruV), more 

 foliaceous than the two preceding: leaves linear-lanceo- 

 late, obtuse or acute ; floral leaves yellowish, rhomboid- 

 orbicular, raucronate, glands truncate or semi-Innate. 

 Mediterranean region. R.H. 1887:160. Gn. 30, p. 203. 



32. Gr4ntii, Oliv. Small shrub with lanneolnte b.aves, 

 large, long acuminate, ovate bracts ami iiliii.i- L-i.n.is. 

 E. Africa. This and the E. arborea . I n.- 

 probably belong in this section, thouL-l. : / I ,',i 



of American dealers may possibly 1.. ,s ,,,..;. a. a//( 



the 



spech 



:: . iiithvin'i.l.'s. .Tacq. (E. polijchrbma, Kern.). A 

 lei . iiial, a foot or more high, with oblong, 



liai . ll.iral leaves different shades of yel- 



!.■'. :.: il. . III. nine. May. Europe. B.M. 2258. -Grow- 

 ing in a line, compact clump, uncommon in gardens. 



34. robiista, Small, and Pdlmeri, Engelm., are many- 

 stemmed perennials, the former from the Rocky moun- 

 tains, the latter from S. Calif., a foot high, more or less, 

 with small ovate leaves and roughened seeds. They 

 have been offered for sale, but have little cultural value. 



35. CyparlsBias, Linn. Herb, perennial from root buds, 

 the short plume-like branches covered with spreading, 

 narrow linear, dark green leaves an inch long: seeds 

 smooth. Europe. L.B.C. 2:118. G.C. IL 22:469. Rept. 

 Mo. Bot. Gard. 11, pi. 50.— Cult, in old gardens for its 

 pioss-like growth. Naturalized and a weed in east U.S. 



36. NatalSnais, Bernh. Stems many, K-1 ft. high: 

 umbel 3-5-rayed, head-like : leaves crowded, narrow 

 linear-lanceolate, subcoriaceous. S. Africa. 



37. Myrsinltes, Linn. Perennial herb : many declined 

 stems covered with large, fleshy, glaucous, obovate or 

 ovate-oblong,concave, pointed leaves : umbel 7-12-rayed : 

 glands and flowers yellow. Europe.— A plant of old 

 gardens, good for rockeries. 



c. Lvs. below the umbel decussate: tall herbs. 



28. lAthyris, Linn. Caper Spurge. Mole Plant. 

 Fig. 800. Annual, 2-3 ft. tall : Ivs. long, lance-linear, 

 those of the inflorescence ovate-acuminate : glands 

 short-hoi-ned : capsules somewhat fleshy. Eu., nml 

 naturalized in eastern U.S. Rept. Mo. Bot. lian'. II, 

 pi. 11. — Cult, in old gardens. Capsules sunretinies 

 pickled. Seeds used as a purgative. Snid to drive 

 moles from its neighborhood (see Cornell Bull. 01:331). 

 cc. Lvs. usualhj clustered at the ends of the branches: 



shrubs. 



29. atropurpiirea, Brouss. A shrub, 3-6 ft. high, 

 branched : the pale, glaucous green, spreading or droop- 

 ing lvs. crowded at the ends of the branches, 2-3 in. 

 long ; umbel 5-10-rayed ; involucres surrounded by 2 

 large, dark purple, broadly ovate, obtuse, connate bracts. 

 March. Teneriffe. B.M. 3.321. — Plants known as E. 

 atropurpurea and E. sniiiiuinea in America, and used 

 for bedding, are in part E. hamatndes, Boiss., a species 

 of Section A not well known to botanists, and partly a 

 purplish var. of E. pnlcherrima. 



