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Euphorbiaceae

8-Cyathia of Euphorbia

[FMP-field: image]

The genus Euphorbia has a different type of flower than seen in Jatropa, seen in Image 5.

The staminate flowers consist only of one stamen and the female flower consists of only a syncarpous gynoecium. A number of male flowers and one female flower are grouped together in a special inflorescence called a cyathium (plural cyathia). At the base of the cyathium are a number of nectar glands, and these can have petal-like appendages. This example is Euphorbia corollata, flowering spurge.


Photo by K. R. Robertson and D. L. Nickrent of plants from Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve.

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