''Euphorbia regis-jubae'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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, native to the eastern

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, western

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, north-western

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...

. In Spanish, it is known as . It has often been confused with '' Euphorbia lamarckii''. The specific epithet ''regis-jubae'', meaning 'King Juba's euphorbia' honours the king's contributions to natural history and his role in bringing the genus to notice. The

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

genus '' Jubaea'' is also named after Juba.

Description

''Euphorbia regis-jubae'' is a shrub, up to tall. It has light brown stems and terminal rosettes of leaves that are narrow and oblong, with a pointed or somewhat blunt apex. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s are pedunculate,

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

-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 Elaiosomes ( grc, ἔλαιον ''élaion'' "oil" + ''sóma'' "body") are fleshy structures that are attached to the seeds of many plant species. The elaiosome is rich in lipids and proteins, and may be variously shaped. Many plants have elaio ...

(caruncle). File:Teguise - Camino de Teguise al las Nieves - Euphorbia regis-jubae 04 ies.jpg, Inflorescence File:Euphorbia regis-jubae à Lanzarote infructescence.JPG, Fruit

Taxonomy

''Euphorbia regis-jubae'' was first described by Jaques Étienne Gay in 1847. 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''. ''E. regis-jubae'' has regularly been misidentified. The illegitimate name ''Euphorbia obtusifolia'' 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 David Bramwell is a British writer, musician, performer and broadcaster. For BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4, Radio 4, he has made programmes on diverse subjects, including Ivor Cutler, clapping, time travel, and the murmurations of starlings. He i ...

listed seven publications from 1847 to 1993 that gave the wrong names or the wrong distributions for these two species.

Distribution

''Euphorbia regis-jubae'' is native to the eastern

– Gran Canaria,

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

and

Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the North Africa region, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the northwestern coast of Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNES ...

, western

and north-western

. 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 Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, north-western La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5851909 regis-jubae Flora of the Canary Islands Flora of Morocco Flora of Western Sahara Plants described in 1847