Description:

• Herbs, shrubs, trees, sometimes succulent, sometimes twining or climbing, monoecious or dioecious; latex often present, milky, sometimes watery, rarely reddish
• Leaves alternate, rarely opposite, or in whorls, simple, rarely compound, sometimes rudimentary; indumentum simple to stellate or lepidote (sometimes absent); stipules free, rarely connate or absent
• Inflorescences terminal or axillary, basically cymose; flowers solitary or in glomerules, these often grouped into spiciform or capitate thyrses or pseudanthia, sometimes in cyathia (Euphorbia); bracts often glandular
• Flowers unisexual, regular, usually small, often dissimilar in the two sexes; perianth present or 0 in 1 or both sexes, usually of 5 segments, sometimes sepals and petals present, petals rarely united at base
• Male flowers: stamens 1-50(-400), hypogynous, rarely perigynous; filaments free or connate; anthers 2(3 or 4)-thecous, opening lengthwise or sometimes by pores; ovary rudimentary or absent
• Female flowers: ovary superior, (1-)2-5(-20)-locular, with 1 or 2 pendulous, apical-axile, inverted ovules in each locule; styles as many as carpels, free or ± connate, entire, 2-lobed or variously cut
• Disc annular, entire or lobed, of free scales or absent
• Fruit usually capsular, (1 or 2)3(4-7)-locular, mericarps elastically dehiscent from persistent columella, or indehiscent and drupaceous, or of a single nut or 2 or 3 connate nuts
• Seeds with or without caruncle; embryo straight or curved; endosperm copious, oily, rarely 0, often poisonous

Nomenclature:

• Euphorbiaceae
  • Brown, Hutchinson & Prain: 216 (1915)
  • Meyer: 1 (1967)
  • Radcliffe-Smith: 1 (1987a)
  • Radcliffe-Smith: 47 (1987b)
  • Webster: 3 (1994a)
  • Webster: 33 (1994b)
  • Radcliffe-Smith: 1 (1996)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Genera over 300, species over 5000; cosmopolitan, mainly in tropics
• Southern Africa: Genera 48 (50), species 484

References:

• BROWN, N.E., HUTCHINSON, J. & PRAIN, D. 1915. Euphorbiaceae [in part]. Flora capensis 5, 2
• MEYER, P.G. 1967. Euphorbiaceae. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 67
• RADCLIFFE-SMITH, A. 1987a. Euphorbiaceae. Flora of tropical East Africa. Euphorbiaceae Part 1
• RADCLIFFE-SMITH, A. 1987b. Segregate families from the Euphorbiaceae. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 94
• RADCLIFFE-SMITH, A. 1996. Euphorbiaceae. Flora zambesiaca 9, 4
• WEBSTER, G.L. 1994a. Classification of the Euphorbiaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 81
• WEBSTER, G.L. 1994b. Synopsis of the genera and suprageneric taxa of Euphorbiaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 81

Resources:

• Classification of Euphorbiaceae
• Key to Euphorbiaceae subfamilies
• Key to Euphorbiaceae genera

• Euphorbiaceae genera: