The family Euphorbiaceae Jussieu

There are about 60 genera of Euphorbiaceae in the USA but only two genera are found in Québec:

• the Acalypha genus with a single species, Acalypha virginica;
• the Euphorbia genus, an enormous genus of approximately 2 000 species, with 8 species found in Québec:
  • Euphorbia cyparissias, the picture above;
  • Euphorbia davidii;
  • Euphorbia esula;
  • Euphorbia helioscopia;
  • Euphorbia lathyris;
  • Euphorbia marginata;
  • Euphorbia peplus;
  • Euphorbia platyphyllos.

Name

In his Naturalis Historia, [XXV,38 (xxxviii, 77,78,79)] Pliny the Elder writes:

	Invenit et patrum nostrorum aetate rex Iuba quam appellavit Euphorbeam
	medici sui nomine. frater is fuit Musae, a quo divum Augustum conservatum
	indicavimus. iidem fratres instituere a balineis frigida multa corpora
	adstringere; antea non erat mos nisi calida tantum lavari, sicut apud
	Homerum etiam invenimus.

	Sed Iubae volumen quoque extat de ea herba et clarum praeconium. invenit
	eam in monte Atlante, specie thyrsi, foliis acanthinis. vis tanta est, ut e
	longinquo sucus excipiatur incisa conto; subitur excipulis ventriculo
	haedino. umor lactis videtur defluens; siccatus cum coiit, turis effigiem
	habet. qui colligunt, clarius vident. contra serpentes medetur quacumque
	parte percussa vertice inciso et medicamento addito ibi.

	Gætuli, qui legunt, taedio lacte adum non est, fastidiendum odorem habet.
	multum infra hunc sucum est qui in Gallia fit ex herba chamelaea, granum
	cocci ferente. fractus hammoniaco similis est, etiam levi gustu os accensum
	diu detinens et magis ex vero, donec fauces quoque siccet. 

	In the time, too, of our fathers, King Juba discovered a plant, to which he
	gave the name of euphorbia, in honour of his physician, Euphorbus, the 
	brother of the same Musa, whom We have mentioned as having saved the life
	of the late Emperor Augustus. It was these brothers who introduced the
	practice of douching the body with large quantities of cold water,
	immediately after the bath, for the purpose of bracing the system:
	whereas in former times, as we find stated in the works of Homer even, it
	was the practice to wash the body with warm water only.

	With reference to euphorbia, there is a treatise still in existence, written
	upon it by King Juba, in which he highly extols its merits: he discovered it
	growing upon Mount Atlas, and describes it as resembling a thyrsus in
	appearance, and bearing leaves like those of the acanthus. The properties of
	this plant are so remarkably powerful, that the persons engaged in
	collecting the juices of it are obliged to stand at a considerable distance.
	The incisions are made with a long pole shod with iron, the juice flowing
	into receivers of kid-leather placed beneath. The juice has all the 
	appearance of milk, as it exudes, but when it has coagulated and dried, it
	assumes the form and consistency of frankincense. The persons engaged in 
	collecting it, find their sight improved thereby. This juice is an excellent
	remedy for the stings of serpents: in whatever part of the body the wound
	may have been inflicted, the practice is to make an incision in the crown of
	the head, and there introduce the medicament.

	The Gætuli who collect it, are in the habit of adulterating it with warm
	milk; a fraud, however, easily to be detected by the agency of fire, that 
	which is not genuine emitting a most disgusting smell. Much inferior to this
	is the juice extracted, in Gaul, from the chamelæa, a plant which bears the 
	grain of Cnidos. When broken asunder, it resembles hammoniacum in
	appearance; and however slightly tasted, it leaves a burning sensation in 
	the mouth, which lasts a considerable time, and increases every now and
	then, until, in fact, it has quite parched the fauces.

In classical Greek ευφορβοσ (euphorbos) means well fed and some sources suggest that Juba was amused by the play upon words and chose his physician's name for the plant because of its succulent nature and because of Euphorbus corpulent physique.

Distribution

Notes

A number of plants of the Euphorbiaceae family are of considerable economic importance:

• Manihot esculenta, the manioc, a woody shrub native to South America is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates, the third largest source of carbohydrates for human food in the world, with Africa its largest center of production.
• Ricinus communis, the castor oil plant, whose seed is the source of castor oil, which has a wide variety of uses. The seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich in triglycerides, mainly ricinolein. They also contain ricin, a poison, which is also present in lower concentrations throughout the plant. In ethnobotany the oil was used as a laxative, purgative and cathartic. The oil also containes undecylenic acid, a powerful chemical for dermal fungus.
• Hevea brasiliensis, the rubber tree, the most economically important member of the genus Hevea because its latex that is the primary source of natural rubber.
• Euphorbia pulcherrima,, commonly known as Poinsettia, indigenous to Mexico, and native to the Pacific coast of the United States. The plants' association with Christmas originated in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson blossoms supposedly sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. From the 17th century, Franciscan monks in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations.
• Euphorbia esula, native to central and southern Europe (north to England, the Netherlands, and Germany), and eastward through most of Asia north of the Himalaya to Korea and eastern Siberia, was transported to the United States possibly as a seed impurity in the early 1800s. It now occurs across much of the northern U.S. and part of Canada; it has been identified as a serious weed in many places, and now classified as an invasive. It is also naturalised in parts of South America

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