Euphorbia is a large and very diverse, cosmopolitan genus in the Euphorbiaceae family consisting of about 1500 species, occurring in most parts of the world except for the polar regions.
It includes dwarf herbs, stemless geophytes and succulent shrubs, woody perennials and even trees up to 15m tall (such as E. ingens or naboom, from the north-eastern parts of South Africa), and the species occur mainly in Africa and Madagascar. All of its members produce copious, often poisonous, milky latex when injured. The flowers are surrounded by several prominent bracts and are unisexual, with the female and male parts produced on separate stalks.
This story is from the July 2017 edition of The Gardener.
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This story is from the July 2017 edition of The Gardener.
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