Pedilanthus

Euphorbia sect. Crepidaria
Euphorbia tithymaloides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Genus:	Euphorbia
Subgenus:	Euphorbia
Section:	Euphorbia sect. Crepidaria (Haw.) Baill. [1]
Species
Euphorbia bracteata Euphorbia calcarata Euphorbia coalcomanensis Euphorbia colligata Euphorbia conzattii Euphorbia cymbifera Euphorbia cyri Euphorbia diazlunana Euphorbia dressleri Euphorbia finkii Euphorbia lomelii Euphorbia peritropoides Euphorbia personata Euphorbia tehuacana Euphorbia tithymaloides

Pedilanthus, the slipper spurges, ^{[2] [3]} was a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae, now subsumed into the genus Euphorbia ^[2] on the basis of phylogenic analysis in the early 2000s. ^[4] The former genus is now referred to as the Pedilanthus clade ^{[2] [3]} or as Euphorbia sect. Crepidaria. ^[2] It includes 15 species, 14 of which are restricted to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Only one species ( E. tithymaloides ) has a wide distribution, from the Florida to the West Indies and South America, and cultivated in all tropical regions with several cultivars. ^[4]

Description and habitats

Euphorbia bracteata flowers

Pedilanthus is distinguished from other Euphorbia by its inflorescence, a spurred cyathia with fused styles and with it glands hidden within a nectar spur ^[4] inspiring the common names of slipper spurge, slipper flower or slipper plant. Unlike other Euphorbia, members of this clade are mostly hummingbird pollinated. ^[5]

Species of this clade occupy a remarkably wide range of habitats and life forms. ^[5] Most of them, like E. tithymaloides , are small leafy shrubs found in the tropical dry forests of Mexico and the Caribbean. E. calcarata is a small woody tree of the tropical dry forests, E. cymbifera and E. lomelii are on the contrary almost leafless stem succulents. E. finkii  [ es ] is found in Mexico's moist forests.

Cacho et al. divide the clade into four subclades: a xeric subclade, with succulent shrubs of tropical deciduous forest, scrub or desert; a mesic subclade which includes all five species that inhabit mesic forests except E. finkii which forms its own subclade; and E. personata and E. tithymaloides with its subspecies which to together make up the fourth subclade. ^[5]

Pedianthus are widely cultivated as a ornamental plants as hedges and in gardens in the tropics and subtropics. ^[6]

Synonyms

• Crepidaria Haw.
• Diadenaria Klotzsch & Garcke
• Hexadenia Klotzsch & Garcke
• Tithymaloides Ortega
• Ventenatia Tratt.

Species and subspecies

The former genus Pedilanthus consists of: ^[4]

• Euphorbia bracteata (Pedilanthus bracteatus, Pedilanthus pavonis)
• Euphorbia calcarata (Pedilanthus calcaratus)
• Euphorbia coalcomanensis (Pedilanthus coalcomanensis)
• Euphorbia colligata (Pedilanthus connatus)
• Euphorbia conzattii (Pedilanthus pulchellus)
• Euphorbia cymbifera (Pedilanthus cymbiferus)
• Euphorbia cyri  [ es ] (Pedilanthus tomentellus)
• Euphorbia diazlunana (Pedilanthus diazlunanus)
• Euphorbia dressleri (Pedilanthus gracilis)
• Euphorbia finkii  [ es ] (Pedilanthus finkii)
• Euphorbia lomelii (Pedilanthus macrocarpus)
• Euphorbia peritropoides (Pedilanthus peritropoides, Pedilanthus palmeri)
• Euphorbia personata (Pedilanthus personatus, Pedilanthus nodiflorus)
• Euphorbia tehuacana (Pedilanthus tehuacanus)
• Euphorbia tithymaloides (Pedilanthus tithymaloides, Tithymalus tithymaloides) - devil's backbone, redbird cactus
  • Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. angustifolia
  • Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. bahamensis
  • Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. jamaicensis
  • Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. padifolia
  • Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. parasitica
  • Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. retusa
  • Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. smallii
  • Euphorbia tithymaloides subsp. tithymaloides

References

1. Dorsey, Brian L.; Haevermans, Thomas; Aubriot, Xavier; Morawetz, Jeffery J.; Riina, Ricarda; Steinmann, Victor W.; Berry, Paul E. (2013-04-20). "Phylogenetics, morphological evolution, and classification of Euphorbia subgenus Euphorbia". Taxon. 62 (2): 291–315. Bibcode:2013Taxon..62..291D. doi:10.12705/622.1. hdl: 2027.42/146962 . S2CID   87352157.
2. Horn, James W.; van Ee, Benjamin W.; Morawetz, Jeffery J.; Riina, Ricarda; Steinmann, Victor W.; Berry, Paul E.; Wurdack, Kenneth J. (May 2012). "Phylogenetics and the evolution of major structural characters in the giant genus Euphorbia L. (Euphorbiaceae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63 (2): 305–326. Bibcode:2012MolPE..63..305H. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.12.022. hdl: 10261/169091 . ISSN   1095-9513. PMID   22273597. S2CID   22055432.
3. Olson, Mark E.; Lomelí S., José A.; Cacho, N. Ivalú (2005). "Extinction threat in the Pedilanthus clade (Euphorbia, Euphorbiaceae), with special reference to the recently rediscovered E. conzattii (P. pulchellus)". American Journal of Botany. 92 (4): 634–641. doi:10.3732/ajb.92.4.634. ISSN   0002-9122. PMID   21652441.
4. Steinmann, V. W. (2003). "The submersion of Pedilanthus into Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae)" (PDF). Acta Botanica Mexicana. 65: 45–50.
5. Cacho, N. I.; Berry, P. E.; Olson, M. E.; Steinmann, V. W.; Baum, D. A. (2010). "Are spurred cyathia a key innovation? Molecular systematics and trait evolution in the slipper spurges (Pedilanthus clade: Euphorbia, Euphorbiaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 97 (3): 493–510.
6. Dressler, Robert L. (1957). "The Genus Pedilanthus (Euphorbiaceae)". Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (182): 1–188.