Euphorbia flanaganii
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| Euphorbia flanaganii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus: | Euphorbia |
| Species: | E. flanaganii |
| Binomial name | |
| Euphorbia flanaganii N.E.Br. (1915) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Euphorbia flanaganii, commonly known as Transkei medusa's head, is a succulent plant that belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae. It is endemic to South Africa.[2] Due to the breadth of the Euphorbiaceae, little research specific to E. flanaganii has been conducted.
It is believed to be closely related to E. hypogaea and E. procumbens, resulting from a common speciation event. However, the phylogenetic association between the three species remains relatively unreliable, with values of only 53/.66 attributed to the linkage.[3] Euphorbia flanaganii is in subgenus Athymalus,[3][4] which comprises 150 species.
Description
It is an agglomerated, thorny, succulent plant with snake-like branches that has a swollen underground stem. It is a dwarf shrub with a size of 0.02 to 0.05 m in height that is found at an altitude of 30 to 185 meters. Leaves are rather small, only 10 mm long and 1 mm broad. Its branches grow horizontally, up to 400 mm in diameter. It has inflorescence in cyathium with a single, 4 mm long flower per flower stalk that bloom in late summer and autumn.[5]
It has photosynthetic modified stems that lack, or have delayed development of, periderm.[6] Careful observation of E. flanaganii specimens also reveals modified, needle-like leaves, radial geometric symmetry, and a seemingly tuberous above ground root structure.