Euphorbia graminea Jacquin (1763: 151)

Hassemer, Gustavo, Silva, Otávio Luis Marques Da, Funez, Luís Adriano, Ernst, Madeleine, Cordeiro, Inês & Rønsted, Nina, 2017, Updates on the genus Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) in Santa Catarina, Brazil, Phytotaxa 298 (3), pp. 222-238 : 233-234

Euphorbia graminea Jacquin (1763: 151)

Lectotype (designated by McVaugh 1993: 220–221):—COUNTRY UNKNOWN. Without locality, N. J. von Jacquin s.n. (BM-510672!).

Photographs: — Fig. 8 .

Distribution and habitat: — Euphorbia graminea is native to Central America, northern South America and the Caribbean, and is an invasive species in tropical and subtropical areas ( Yang et al. 2005, Ward & Housel 2007, Vincent 2013). This is an ornamental species for which many cultivars have been created. It is more frequently observed in gardens, but this species may also grow in shaded disturbed environments such as forest edges. In SC E. graminea has been collected in the municipality of Rodeio ( Fig. 3 ); however, it has also been observed during field work in Ascurra, Blumenau, Florianópolis, São Bento do Sul and Timbó.

Conservation status: —Least Concern (LC).

Notes: —This is the first reference of the occurrence of this species in SC. Euphorbia graminea is expanding its distribution to many other areas, including North America and Asia ( Yang et al. 2005, Ward & Housel 2007, Vincent 2013), possibly due to cultivation.

Material examined: — BRAZIL. Santa Catarina: Rodeio, final da Rua Vicente Moser, 10 November 2013, L. A. Funez 2385 (FURB-42875).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Distribution map of Euphorbia cyathophora (yellow stars), E. graminea (green diamond), E. ophthalmica (blue triangle) and E. thymifolia (red dots) in Santa Catarina.

FIGURE 8. Euphorbia graminea in São Bento do Sul, Santa Catarina (A), and detail of inflorescence (B).