Euphorbia virosa is a plant of the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. It has a short main stem, usually twisted, from which 5-10 cm branches emerge. These leafless branches have 5 to 8 edges. Paired thorns grow in regularly spaced intervals from the edges. An Euphorbia virosa in Namibia. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) â Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes â Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses â Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Pteridophyta - ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) â Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... It has been suggested that Angiospermae, and Anthophyta be merged into this article or section. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families Family Achariaceae Family Balanopaceae Family Bonnetiaceae Family Caryocaraceae Family Chrysobalanaceae Family Clusiaceae Family Ctenolophonaceae Family Dichapetalaceae Family Elatinaceae Family Erythryloxaceae (coca family) Family Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) Family Euphroniaceae Family Goupiaceae Family Humiriaceae Family Hypericaceae (St Johns wort family) Family Irvingiaceae Family Ixonanthaceae Family Lacistemaceae Family Linaceae (flax family... Genera See text Ref: Euphorbiaceae in The Families of Flowering Plants, as of 2002-07-13 The Spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) is a large family of flowering plants with 280 genera and around 6000 species. ... This article needs cleanup. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) â Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes â Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses â Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Pteridophyta - ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) â Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Genera See text Ref: Euphorbiaceae in The Families of Flowering Plants, as of 2002-07-13 The Spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) is a large family of flowering plants with 280 genera and around 6000 species. ...
Euphorbia virosa is commonly distributed from the Orange River in South Africa to Southern Angola, occupying mainly arid areas in Namibia. The plant contains within the branches a milky and creamy substance with carcinogenic properties. This substance is very poisonous and is used by Bushmen to dip the tips of their hunting arrows. Contact with it causes skin irritation, and if the eyes are afflicted, blindness may occur. The Orange River is the major river in South Africa. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ... The skull and crossbones symbol traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ... The Bushmen (also known as Basarwa in Tswana, or San in Nama) are an indigenous population of the Kalahari Desert, which spans South Africa and neighboring Botswana and Namibia as well as southern Angola. ...
Spurges (genus Euphorbia) are a very large and diverse worldwide group of plants, belonging to the spurge family, or Euphorbiaceae.
The botanical name Euphorbia derives from the Greek Euphorbus, physician of king Juba II of Numidia (52-50 BC - 23 AD), in whose honour – or in allusion to his swollen belly – a certain plant he might have used, possibly Euphorbia resinifera, was named.
The genus Euphorbia is one of the largest and most complex genera of flowering plants and several botanists have made unsuccessfully attempts to subdivide the genus into numerous smaller genera.