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Spurge family
Euphorbiaceae
トウダイグサ科
A large, extremely diverse family including spurges, poinsettias, rubber trees, and castor oil plants. About 300 genera and 6,500 species are distributed from tropical to temperate regions. Many species produce toxic latex (white sap), and the inflorescence (cyathium) is distinctive.
Key Characteristics
- ●Many species produce toxic white latex
- ●Flowers are unisexual, often lacking petals
- ●Cyathium, a distinctive pseudanthial inflorescence (in genus Euphorbia)
- ●Fruit is an explosive capsule that ejects seeds when ripe
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite / Whorled
Leaf type
Simple / Compound
Venation
Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Vine / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Compound type
Palmate
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Present
Latex
Present / Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
3 petals
Petal fusion
Free / Fused
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
5
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Malpighiales > Euphorbiaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (about 90–80 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Defense against herbivores through independent diversification of latex
- ・Evolution of the cyathium as a pseudanthial (false flower) structure
Plants in Spurge family on this site
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