Saturday 18 May
Euphorbia (Euphorbia larica)
Euphorbia fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Euphorbia description
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Euphorbiales |
| Family | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus | Euphorbia (1) |
Although cactus-like in appearance, Euphorbia larica is a actually a member of the Euphorbiaceae family, one of the largest plant groups in the world, comprising around 300 genera and some 7,500 species (2) (3). Often referred to as ‘spurges’, these plants are best known for their unusually simple, highly-reduced flower structure, which is most apparent on plants in the Euphorbia genus (2). The tiny flowers are aggregated into a specialised inflorescence, called a ‘cyanthium’, which comprises a single female flower surrounded by stamen-bearing male flowers, all of which are encased in a cup-like structure of bracts such that the whole arrangement looks like a single flower (3) (4). This unique structure is present in every Euphorbia plant, but no where else in the entire plant kingdom (5). These succulent plants also exude a milky, often toxic latex when cut, and they also have reduced leaves (2). Euphorbia larica has pencil-like stems and produces a dry capsule that splits explosively when ripe (2) (5).
More »
Top
Related species
Euphorbia biology
In many Euphorbia species, the flowers are pollinated by flies, which are attracted to the plant by nectar-producing glands on the cyanthium and by the brightly coloured bracts. Another characteristic feature of all Euphorbia species is the presence of milky latex, or sap, which is secreted by the plant though broken stems, or damaged roots and leaves. Found in all parts of the plant, the latex is usually poisonous, and probably developed to protect the plant from herbivores. Ingestion of the plant is known to cause severe irritation of the mouth and digestive systems, as well as nausea, diarrhoea and swelling, while direct contact with the sap can cause skin irritation, inflammation and blistering (5).
TopEuphorbia range
Euphorbia larica is distributed from Baluchistan province in Pakistan and south-west Iran through to northern Iran (6).
More »
Top
Species with a similar range
Euphorbia habitat
Euphorbia larica is found on rocky slopes in mountainous areas, where it tends to dominate the shrub and herb communities (6).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Euphorbia status
This species has yet to be assessed by the IUCN.
TopEuphorbia threats
It is not known if there are any major threats to Euphorbia larica.
TopEuphorbia conservation
Euphorbia larica has not been the target of any known conservation measures.
|
Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi is a principal sponsor of ARKive. EAD is working to protect and conserve the environment as well as promoting sustainable development in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. |
Find out more
For more information on the conservation of plants, see:
-
Botanic Gardens Conservation International:
http://www.bgci.org/
Authentication
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk
Glossary
- Bract
- Modified leaf at the base of a flower.
- Genus
- A category used in taxonomy, which is below ‘family’ and above ‘species’. A genus tends to contain species that have characteristics in common. The genus forms the first part of a ‘binomial’ Latin species name; the second part is the specific name.
- Herbivore
- An animal that consumes only vegetable matter.
- Inflorescence
- The reproductive shoot of a plant, which bears a group or cluster of flowers.
- Stamen
- The male reproductive organ of a flower; comprised of an anther (the pollen-producing organ) and a filament (stalk).
References
-
Species 2000 ITIS Catalogue of Life (August, 2009)
http://www.catalogueoflife.org/ -
International Euphorbia Society (October, 2010)
http://www.euphorbia-international.org/ -
University of Hawaii at Manoa (October, 2010)
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/euphorbi.htm - Takhtajan, A. (2009) Flowering Plants. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
-
Euphorbia: A Global Inventory of the Spurges (October, 2010)
http://www.euphorbiaceae.org/pages/about_euphorbia.html - Ghazanfar, S.A. and Fisher, M. (1998) Vegetation of the Arabian Peninsula. Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands.
More »Related species
This species is featured in:
This species is featured in Jewels of the UAE, which showcases biodiversity found in the United Arab Emirates in association with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
Friday 17 May
Wednesday 15 May
Guest Blog: Join Our SOS! Campaign to Help Polar Bears with Polar Bears International
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Euphorbia larica in habitat
© Shahina Ghazanfar / Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 3AB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 208 332 5000
Fax: +44 (0) 208 332 5197
info@kew.org
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.