Family:
Euphorbiaceae Juss.
Genus:
Euphorbia L.

Euphorbia grandidens Haw.

This species is accepted, and its native range is S. Mozambique to S. Africa.

[FZ]

Euphorbiaceae, S. Carter & L.C. Leach. Flora Zambesiaca 9:5. 2001

Morphology General Habit
Succulent, spiny tree to 10–16 m high.
Morphology Trunk
Trunk with several stout, ascending branches, rebranching with ultimate branchlets in clustered whorls at the apices; secondary branches densely rebranching, deeply 2–4-angled, 1.2–2 cm wide; angles sinuate with tubercles 8–30 mm apart along the margins.
Morphology General Spines
Spine shields quite separate, 2–7 × 2 mm, obovate; spines to 0.5–6 mm long; prickles vestigial.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 1 × 1 mm, scale-like, deltoid, deciduous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Cymes solitary, simple, subsessile; bracts 1 × 1.5 mm, scale-like.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Cyathia
Cyathia 2.5 × 4–5 mm, with cup-shaped involucres; glands transversely oblong, 1.5–3.5 mm wide, touching, yellowish-green; lobes subquadrate, dentate.
sex Male
Male flowers: bracteoles c. 2.5 mm long; stamens to c. 4 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Female flower: perianth 3-lobed, with lobes 1 mm long; styles 1.5 mm long, joined at the base, with spreading, shortly bifid tips. Male flowers: bracteoles c. 2.5 mm long; stamens to c. 4 mm long.
sex Female
Female flower: perianth 3-lobed, with lobes 1 mm long; styles 1.5 mm long, joined at the base, with spreading, shortly bifid tips.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule deeply lobed, c. 8 mm in diameter, exserted on a curved pedicel to 8 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds c. 2.5 mm in diameter, subglobose, brown, smooth.

Native to:

Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique, Northern Provinces, Swaziland

Euphorbia grandidens Haw. appears in other Kew resources:

First published in Philos. Mag. J. 66: 33 (1825)

Accepted by

  • Bruyns, P.V. (2012). Nomenclature and typification of southern African species of Euphorbia Bothalia 42: 217-245.
  • Calane da Silva, M., Izdine, S. & Amuse, A.B. (2004). A Preliminary Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Mozambique: 1-184. SABONET, Pretoria.
  • Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Radcliffe-Smith, A. (2000). World Checklist and Bibliography of Euphorbiaceae (and Pandaceae) 1-4: 1-1622. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Möller, A. & Becker, R. (2019). Field guide to the succulent Euphorbias of Southern Africa: 1-320. BRIZA.

  • Art and Illustrations in Digifolia

    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    Flora Zambesiaca
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0