220 EUPHORBIACEAE Excoecaria 
terminal or axillary spikes or racemes. Flowers dioecious, 2-3-merous. Male flowers with minute perianth; 
stamens 2 or 3, anther 2-locular, the locules back to back; rudimentary female parts and disk lacking. Female 
flowers in shorter racemes, perianth more distinctly lobed than in male flowers; ovary 2-3-locular, with 1 
ovule per locule; styles linear. Capsules dehiscent with 3 2-valved cocci. Seeds ecarunculate. 
A genus of c. 40 species occurring in tropical Africa and Asia. Four species in Australia, with 3 in the 
NT. Two species are known from the DR but all 3 species are treated here. (Wightman, 1989] The caustic latex 
of all species is harmful, especially to the eyes. Some species have been referred to as “Blind Your Eyes” 
(Everist, 1979). 
1. Leaves usually < 20 mm Wide .........eeeeeseeseteteeseteneene 
4 Hh. Leaves usually > 20 mm Wide.........ccseeeseseeseseeeeeesenees 
2. Leaf margins crenate, petiole usually >18 mm long 
2. Leaf margins entire, petiole usually <17 mm long ..... 
E. agallocha L. 
A small semideciduous tree to 8(15) m tall with | 
to several trunks. Bark pale, smooth, lenticelled. 
Petioles 15-40 mm long, grooved above. Leaf blades 
discolorous, ovate, obovate or elliptic, 44-115(157) 
mm long, 26-60(82) mm wide, L/B 1.4-2, base 
rounded to cuneate, margin crenate, apex acuminate 
or rounded, often emarginate. Male inflorescence 15- 
115 mm long. Capsules 5-8 mm long. Seeds mottled, 
globular, c. 5 mm diam. Flowering: Oct - Feb; 
fruiting: Dec - Mar. Fig. 73 
Distributed through Asia as far as southern India, 
Taiwan and the Pacific. In Australia along the coast 
of Qld and NSW, and in the eastern NT. Not recorded 
in the DR. A mangrove species occurring on sandy 
substrates in areas receiving some freshwater 
seepage. 
E. ovalis Endl. 
Deciduous tree with | to several stems growing to 
5 m tall. Stipules caducous, triangular, c. 1 mm long. 
Petioles 10-22 mm long. Leaf blades discolorous, 
elliptic or obovate, 40-87 mm long, 20-51 mm wide, 
L/B 1.3-2, base cuneate or rounded, margin entire or 
obscurely crenulate, apex rounded, often emarginate. 
Decsepstesteneistiihisctsetteorreeve teretirs these pace 2 
E. parvifolia 
E. agallocha 
E. ovalis 
Male inflorescence 16-40 mm long; female to 30 mm 
long. Capsules 5-10 mm long. Seeds brown, 
spherical, c. 4.5 mm long. Flowering: Oct - Dec; 
fruiting: Dec - Feb. Fig. 73 
Endemic to northern Australia. Common in the DR. 
A mangrove, growing on the landward margins of 
communities, occasionally above high tide mark. 
E. parvifolia Muell.Arg. 
A semideciduous tree to 7 m tall. Bark dark grey, 
fissured. Leaves clustered on short lateral shoots; 
petioles 1-8 mm long; blades oblanceolate, obovate 
or narrowly elliptical, 15-47 mm long, 4-22 mm 
wide, L/B (1.5)3-6.4, sometimes purplish above, 
base cuneate or attenuate, margin entire, apex 
obtuse, occasionally slightly emarginate. Male 
inflorescence c. 10 mm long. Capsules 6-7 mm long. 
Seeds pale brown, smooth, obovoid, c. 5 mm 
long. Flowering: early wet season; fruiting: Jan - 
Apr. Fig. 73 Gutta Percha 
Endemic to northern Australia. In the DR known 
from the Daly River area. Usually growing on 
seasonally waterlogged flats with clay soil, occasion- 
ally on semi-saline areas. This species has medicinal 
uses (Smith et al., 1993) and the aromatic wood has 
potential for use as a veneer. 
FLUEGGEA Willd. 
A genus of c. 14 tropical species occurring primarily in the Old World. Two species occur in Australia, with 
1 in the NT and the DR. [Webster, 1984] 
F. virosa (Roxb. ex Willd.) Voigt subsp. melanthesoides 
(F.Muell.) Webster 
Securinega melanthesoides (F.Muell.) Airy Shaw 
Shrub to 4 m tall. Glabrous, occasionally slightly 
glaucous. Stipules persistent, triangular, c. 2 mm long. 
Leaves alternate; petioles 3.5-13 mm long; blades 
