''Euphorbia celastroides'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...

. It is referred to by the common name akoko by

Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

, and is a species of

spurge ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

closely related to the poinsettia. This species develops into a round-shape shrub. This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the Hawaiian Islands.

Description

''Euphorbia celastroides'' grows as a medium-sized shrub or small tree reaching in height.Hawaiian flora at botany.si.edu
/ref> To grow properly, this species requires temperatures of and light shade. This plant develops in a fashion similar to a shrub. In the summer, it assumes a red-violet colouring. It does not lose its leaves in the winter, due to the warm climate of its range. Female flowers have a three-part pistil over a three-part ovary, usually producing three (or sometimes more) seeds.''E. celastroides''
at ZipCodeZoo This species is tolerant of heat and drought. They are susceptible to

fungal diseases Pathogenic fungi are fungi that cause disease in humans or other organisms. Approximately 300 fungi are known to be pathogenic to humans. Markedly more fungi are known to be pathogenic to plant life than those of the animal kingdom. The study of fu ...

. Its

cyathia A cyathium (plural: cyathia) is one of the specialised pseudanthia ("false flowers") forming the inflorescence of plants in the genus ''Euphorbia'' (Euphorbiaceae). A cyathium consists of: * Five (rarely four) bracteoles. These are small, uni ...

may be located in short or open-branched cymes, or remain ungrouped in leaf axils. The leaves are distichous (grow in two vertical rows) and may have a glaucous coating. This plant produces a green or brown, rounded fruit 2 to 4 mm long, containing grey-brown seeds 0.5 to 2.5 mm long.

Distribution and habitat

Most varieties of this species can only be found in the Hawaiian Islands. ''E. celastroides'' is tolerant of drought and grows in dry areas, inland as well coastal. This species is endemic to the polihale and kanaio regions of Kauai and Maui.CHAMAESYCE CELASTROIDES COASTAL DRY SHRUBLAND
at hawaii.edu

Conservation

''Euphorbia celastroides'' has not yet been evaluated by the IUCN. However, due to its endemic nature, it is very vulnerable to human threats. Two examples of such threats are four-wheeled vehicles (which crush the plant) and

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

(which compete for resources).

Varieties

This plant has many varieties. These varieties include:Euphorbia on SageBud
/ref> *Var. ''amplectens'' *Var. ''halawana'' *Var. ''hanapepensis'' *Var. ''haupuana'' *Var. ''humbertii'' *Var. ''ingrata'' *Var. ''kaenana'' *Var. ''kohalana'' *Var. ''laehiensis'' *Var. ''laurifolia'' *Var. ''mauiensis'' *Var. ''nelsonii'' *Var. ''nematopoda'' *Var. ''niuensis'' *Var. ''pseudoniuensis'' *Var. ''saxicola'' *Var. ''typica'' *Var. ''waikoluensis''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5410407 celastroides Endemic flora of Hawaii Taxa named by Pierre Edmond Boissier