Euphorbia regis-jubae

Euphorbia regis-jubae is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to the eastern Canary Islands, western Morocco, north-western Western Sahara.[1] In Spanish, it is known as tabaiba morisca.[2] It has often been confused with Euphorbia lamarckii.

Euphorbia regis-jubae
In habitat, Teguise, Lanzarote
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Euphorbia
Species:
E. regis-jubae
Binomial name
Euphorbia regis-jubae
J.Gay[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Tithymalus regis-jubae (J.Gay) Klotzsch & Garcke
  • Euphorbia obtusifolia subsp. regis-jubae (J.Gay) Maire
  • Euphorbia virgata subsp. regis-jubae (J.Gay) Soldano
  • Euphorbia lamarckii subsp. regis-jubae J.Gay) Oudejans
  • Euphorbia mauritanica Webb ex J.Gay
  • Euphorbia pseudodendroides H.Lindb.
  • Euphorbia capazii Caball.

Description

Euphorbia regis-jubae is a shrub, up to 2 m (7 ft) tall. It has light brown stems and terminal rosettes of leaves that are narrow and oblong, with a pointed or somewhat blunt apex. The inflorescences are pedunculate, umbel-like, usually simple with five to eight rays, more rarely compound. The greenish-yellow floral bracts are large, not joined at the base, and persist when the fruit has formed. The fruit capsules are light brown or red. The seeds have a stalked elaiosome (caruncle).[3][2]

  • Inflorescence
  • Fruit

Taxonomy

Euphorbia regis-jubae was first described by Jaques Étienne Gay in 1847.[1] It has been treated as a subspecies of other Canary Island euphorbias under the names E. obtusifolia subsp. regis-jubae and E. lamarckii subsp. regis-jubae.[1]

E. regis-jubae has regularly been misidentified. The illegitimate name Euphorbia obtusifolia Poir. has been used "indiscriminately" for two species found in the Canary Islands: the eastern E. regis-jubae, and the western E. lamarckii. In 2003, David Bramwell listed seven publications from 1847 to 1993 that gave the wrong names or the wrong distributions for these two species.[4]

Distribution

Euphorbia regis-jubae is native to the eastern Canary Islands – Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, western Morocco and north-western Western Sahara.[1] Its distribution differs from that of E. lamarckii, with which it has often been confused; E. lamarckii is found in the western Canary Islands – Tenerife, north-western La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro.[5]

References
  1. "Euphorbia regis-jubae", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2018-01-29
  2. González, Manuel Luis Gil (2018), "Euphorbia regis-jubae Sweet", Flora Vascular de Canarias, retrieved 2018-01-29
  3. Bramwell, David & Bramwell, Zoë (2001), Wild Flowers of the Canary Islands (2nd ed.), Madrid: Editorial Rueda, pp. 208–209, ISBN 978-84-7207-129-2 (as E. broussonetii)
  4. Bramwell, David (2003), "Observations on a proposal to conserve the name Euphorbia obtusifolia Poiret.", Botánica Macaronésica (24): 143–147, retrieved 2018-01-29
  5. "Euphorbia lamarckii", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2018-01-27
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