Euphorbia celastroides

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Euphorbia celastroides
Chamaesyce cyathia.jpg
Chamaesyce celastroides (inflorescence)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Euphorbia
Species:
E. celastroides
Binomial name
Euphorbia celastroides
Synonyms [1]
List
  • *Chamaesyce celastroides(Boiss.) Croizat & O.Deg.
  • *Chamaesyce celastroides var. laehiensis(O.Deg., I.Deg. & Sherff) Koutnik
  • *Chamaesyce celastroides var. nelsonii(H.St.John) V.S.Raju & P.N.Rao
  • *Chamaesyce celastroides var. tomentella(Boiss.) Koutnik
  • *Chamaesyce lorifolia(A.Gray ex H.Mann) Croizat & O.Deg.
  • *Euphorbia annulataNutt. ex Sherff
  • *Euphorbia celastroides var. arenisaxosaH.St.John
  • *Euphorbia celastroides var. limahuliensisH.St.John
  • *Euphorbia celastroides var. nelsoniiH.St.John
  • *Euphorbia celastroides var. tomentella(Boiss.) Oudejans
  • *Euphorbia lorifolia(A.Gray ex H.Mann) Hillebr.
  • *Euphorbia multiformis var. tomentellaBoiss.
  • *Euphorbia oahuensisSkottsb.
  • *Euphorbia rivularisA.Heller
  • *Euphorbia stokesiiC.N.Forbes

Euphorbia celastroides is a flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. [1] It is referred to by the common name 'akoko by Hawaiians, and is a species of spurge closely related to the poinsettia. [2] This species develops into a round-shape shrub. This species is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

Contents

Description

Fruit of E. celastroides Euphorbia celastroides var. kaenana (4839127665).jpg
Fruit of E. celastroides

Euphorbia celastroides grows as a medium-sized shrub or small tree reaching 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height. [3] To grow properly, this species requires temperatures of 15 °C (59 °F) and light shade. [4] This plant develops in a fashion similar to a shrub. In the summer, it assumes a red-violet colouring. It does not lose its leaves in the winter, due to the warm climate of its range. Female flowers have a three-part pistil over a three-part ovary, usually producing three (or sometimes more) seeds. [4] This species is tolerant of heat and drought. They are susceptible to fungal diseases. Its cyathia may be located in short or open-branched cymes, or remain ungrouped in leaf axils. The leaves are distichous (grow in two vertical rows) and may have a glaucous coating. This plant produces a green or brown, rounded fruit 2 to 4 mm long, containing grey-brown seeds 0.5 to 2.5 mm long. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Most varieties of this species can only be found in the Hawaiian Islands. [5] [6] E. celastroides is tolerant of drought and grows in dry areas, inland as well coastal. [7] This species is endemic to the polihale and kanaio regions of Kauai and Maui. [8]

Conservation

Euphorbia celastroides has not yet been evaluated by the IUCN. [9] However, due to its endemic nature, it is very vulnerable to human threats. Two examples of such threats are four-wheeled vehicles (which crush the plant) and introduced species (which compete for resources). [8]

Varieties

This plant has many varieties. These varieties include: [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Euphorbia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae, not just to members of the genus.

<i>Pandanus tectorius</i> Species of plant

Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English include thatch screwpine, Tahitian screwpine, hala tree and pandanus. The edible fruit is sometimes known as hala fruit.

<i>Chamaesyce</i> Genus of flowering plants

Chamaesyce is a genus of plants in the family Euphorbiaceae. Recent phylogenetic studies have shown that Chamaesyce is deeply nested within the broader Euphorbia. Specifically, Chamaesyce is very closely related to plants like Euphorbia pulcherrima, the popular poinsettia. Currently, all species have now been reclassified as species of Euphorbia. Specifically, this group now belongs to Euphorbia subgenus Chamaesyce section Anisophyllum. Taxonomically speaking, Chamaesyce is considered a synonym of Euphorbia.

<i>Euphorbia milii</i> Species of plant

Euphorbia milii, the crown of thorns, Christ plant, or Christ thorn, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae, native to Madagascar. The species name commemorates Baron Milius, once Governor of Réunion, who introduced the species to France in 1821. It is imagined that the species was introduced to the Middle East in ancient times, and legend associates it with the crown of thorns worn by Christ. It is commonly used as an ornamental houseplant that can be grown in warmer climates. The common name is due to the thorns and deep red bracts referring to the crown thorn Jesus had to wear during his crucifixion and his blood.

<i>Euphorbia albomarginata</i> Species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia albomarginata, whitemargin sandmat or rattlesnake weed, is a small low-growing perennial, in the spurge family native to desert, chaparral, and grassland habitats of southwestern North America, from southern and central California to Northern Mexico and Louisiana.

<i>Eriogonum fasciculatum</i> Species of flowering shrub

Eriogonum fasciculatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and flat-topped buckwheat. Characterized by small, white and pink flower clusters that give off a cottony effect, this species grows variably from a patchy mat to a wide shrub, with the flowers turning a rusty color after blooming. This plant is of great benefit across its various habitats, providing an important food resource for a diversity of insect and mammal species. It also provides numerous ecosystem services for humans, including erosion control, post-fire mitigation, increases in crop yields when planted in hedgerows, and high habitat restoration value.

<i>Euphorbia corollata</i> Species of flowering plant

Euphorbia corollata is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Euphorbiaceae that is native to North America. A common name for the species is flowering spurge. It has a milky sap that can cause skin and eye irritation in some people. It grows up to 1 m (3 ft) tall, with smooth stems and light green leaves arranged alternately or in whorls. Leaves are about 10 mm wide and 75 mm (3 in) long. Each stem terminates in a panicle 20 to 25 mm across. Flowers are about 6 mm across and consist of one pistillate and several staminate flowers surrounded by five white bracts - not petals but formed from the involucre at the base of the flowers. Flowering spurge blooms from June to September.

<i>Frankenia pauciflora</i> Species of plant

Frankenia pauciflora, the common sea-heath or southern sea-heath, is an evergreen shrub native to southern Australia. It is part of the Frankenia genus of the Frankeniaceae family.

<i>Pachycormus discolor</i> Species of flowering plant

Pachycormus is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the cashew family commonly known as the Baja elephant tree, torote blanco, or copalquín. The single species Pachycormus discolor is endemic to the Baja California peninsula, with three varieties. This sarcocaulescent tree or shrub is characterized by its unique gnarled growth habit, skin-like exfoliating bark, and succulent nature, whose appearance has been colorfully described as "the proboscis of an elephant holding a nosegay," a "huge radish protruding from the ground," or "grotesque resemblances of the flexed limbs of a corpulent human being." This drought-deciduous species spends most of the year dormant, but following rains pinnate green leaves emerge, and in the late spring to summer the leaves yellow, fall, and give way to bright red, cream, or pink flowers that give it a striking appearance in bloom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euphorbiaceae</span> Family of Eudicot flowering plants

Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as Euphorbia paralias, are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are shrubs or trees, such as Hevea brasiliensis. Some, such as Euphorbia canariensis, are succulent and resemble cacti because of convergent evolution. This family has a cosmopolitan global distribution. The greatest diversity of species is in the tropics, however, the Euphorbiaceae also have many species in nontropical areas of all continents except Antarctica.

<i>Euphorbia micromera</i> Species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia micromera is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is known by the common name Sonoran sandmat. It is native to the southwestern United States from California to Texas, and northern Mexico, where it grows in sandy soils in desert and other dry habitat. It is an annual herb forming a small mat of slender stems. The hairy to hairless leaves are oblong in shape and just a few millimeters long. The tiny inflorescence is a cyathium less than a millimeter wide. It lacks the appendages that many similar species have in their cyathia. It has only a central female flower and 2 to 5 male flowers surrounded by round red nectar glands. The fruit is a minute round capsule.

Euphorbia deppeana is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae known by the common names Deppe's broomspurge and Oahu sandmat. It is endemic to Oʻahu, Hawaii, where it is known from only one population in moist shrublands on Nuʻuanu Pali. Like other native Hawaiian euphorbs it is called ʻakoko locally.

Euphorbia eleanoriae is a rare species of flowering plant in the euphorb family known by the common name Nā Pali sandmat. It is endemic to Kauaʻi, Hawaii. Like other native Hawaiian euphorbs it is called ʻakoko locally. This plant was only discovered in 1992 and described to science in 1996 as Chamaesyce eleanoriae. At that time there were fewer than 500 plants known, all occurring in small populations scattered across the sheer cliffs along the Nā Pali Coast of Kauaʻi. By 2001 the total population had already dropped; only three populations were found, for a total of fewer than 50 plants. The plant was federally listed as an endangered species of the United States in 2010.

Euphorbia herbstii is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae known by the common name Herbst's sandmat. It is endemic to Oʻahu, Hawaii, where it is rapidly disappearing. Like other Hawaiian euphorbs, this plant is known locally as ʻakoko. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Euphorbia kuwaleana</i> Species of flowering plant

Euphorbia kuwaleana is a rare species of flowering plant in the euphorb family known by the common name kokomalei. It is endemic to Oahu, Hawaii, where it is known only from a four-kilometer stretch of the Waianae Range. Like other Hawaiian euphorbs, this plant is known locally as `akoko. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Euphorbia skottsbergii</i> Species of flowering plant

Euphorbia skottsbergii is a rare species of flowering plant in the euphorb family known by the common names coastal sandmat and Skottsberg's broomspurge. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is found in coastal shrublands on Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Kahoʻolawe. Like other Hawaiian euphorbs, this plant is known locally as ʻakoko.

Kadua cookiana is a rare species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common names 'awiwi and Cook's bluet. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from Kauai, having been extirpated from Molokai and Hawaii. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Holodiscus dumosus</i> Species of flowering plant

Holodiscus dumosus is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, with the common names mountain spray, rock-spiraea, bush oceanspray, and glandular oceanspray.

<i>Euphorbia royleana</i> Species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia royleana is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is also known as Sullu spurge, and Royle's spurge. It is a succulent and almost cactus like in appearance although unrelated. It grows right across the Himalaya mountains from Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal to western China, It prefers dry and rocky slopes between 1000 and 1500 meters, but has been found up to 2000 meters. Flowering and fruiting is in spring to early summer (March–July) and seeding is in June–October. It is used as a hedging plant in northern India and has medicinal uses.

<i>Euphorbia psammogeton</i> Species of flowering plant

Euphorbia psammogeton, commonly known as sand spurge, is a flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. The specific epithet derives from the Greek psammos (“sand”) and geiton (“neighbour”), alluding to the typical habitat.

References

  1. 1 2 "Euphorbia celastroides Boiss". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  2. "Euphorbiaceae at hawaii.edu". Archived from the original on 2009-09-18. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  3. 1 2 Hawaiian flora at botany.si.edu
  4. 1 2 E. celastroides at ZipCodeZoo
  5. Wagner, W.; D. Herbst; S. Sohmer (1990). Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 1853. ISBN   978-0-8248-1152-5.
  6. USDA.gov on Var.kaenana
  7. Mitchell, Andrew W. (1989). The fragile South Pacific: an ecological odyssey. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. p. 167. ISBN   978-0-292-72466-2 . Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  8. 1 2 CHAMAESYCE CELASTROIDES COASTAL DRY SHRUBLAND Archived 2009-09-18 at the Wayback Machine at hawaii.edu
  9. Chamaesyce celastroides Archived 2010-07-14 at the Wayback Machine at EOL.org
  10. Euphorbia on SageBud [ permanent dead link ]