Euphorbiaceae

Abstract

Monoecious or dioecious trees, shrubs, or herbs, sometimes succulent or scandent; stems with or without laticifers; indumentum simple, malphighiaceous, stellate, or lepidote, sometimes glandular or 0. Leaves alternate, spiral or distichous, less commonly opposite or whorled; leaf blades simple to palmately lobed or compound, pinnately to palmately nerved, sometimes with basal, laminar, or marginal glands; stipules persistent or deciduous, sometimes reduced or 0. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, sometimes cauliflorous, thyrsoid, paniculate dichasial, glomerulate or synanthial, or flowers solitary; bracts sometimes colored, glandular, or hypertrophied. Flowers unisexual, usually actinomorphic; perianth segments distinct or connate, imbricate to valvate, rarely obsolete or suppressed; sepals (1-)3-6(-10), entire or lobed, sometimes glandular, the pistillate persistent or deciduous in fruit; petals + or 0, greenish to white, yellow, pink, or red; disk + or 0, extrastaminal or less commonly interstaminal, entire to toothed, lobed, or dissected; stamens (1-)3-50(-400), filaments distinct or connate; anthers mostly 2-locular, dehiscing longitudinally or laterally, extrorse or less commonly introrse; gynoecium syncarpous, ovary (1)2-5(-20)-locular; placentation axile (basal); ovules 1 or 2 per locule, anatropous or hemitropous, epitropous, usually inserted beneath an obturator. Fruits mostly schizocarpic, splitting from the columella, commonly explosively dehiscent, mesocarp often separating from endocarp, sometimes baccate or drupaceous. Seeds often carunculate; seed coat mostly exotegmic; endosperm copious, often fleshy, or 0, sometimes oily; embryo straight, curved or plicate.