Euphorbia nereidum Jahand. & Maire
Eng.: Spurge. Spa.: Lechetrezna, tabaiba. Fre.: Euphorbe. Ara.: Lezara.
Monoecious shrub, up to 3(4) m in height. Highly ramose from the base, with very upright stems, not too branched. Bark reddish in older stems and branches, without scars from the fallen leaves. Young brances pale green. Leaves are gathered in the upper half of branches. Leaves up to 150 mm long (very large compared to other species of the genus in the region), longly lanceolate, sessile or subsessile, with entire margin, sometimes somewhat undulate, acute; cauline leaves alternate and glabrous; floral leaves opposite and puberulent on the underside. Pleiochasium normally with 5 rays, subequal in length compared to the pleiochasial bracts. Pleiochasial bracts from ellyptic to suborbicular or subrhomboidal, green. Dichasial bracts from orbicular to rhomboidal, yellowish, free. Male and female flowers grow together in a cyathium, shortly pedunculate, with stipitate glands, with yellow or reddish nectaries, not appendiculate. Fruit a subglobose capsule, hairy, with pedicel similar in length to the cocci, with very noticeable grooves between cocci. Cocci tuberculate. Each coccus contains 1 carunculate seed, semi-smooth or covered by a fine net of discontinuous ribs.
Flowering:
April to June.
Fruiting:
June to August.
Habitat:
Humid soils, generally near lakes, running or still water courses, irrigation canals.
Distribution:
Very rare species, endemic to Morocco. It was considered extinct by the end of the 70’s, but 2 interesting populations were discovered during the 80’s, in the regions of El Ksiba and Beni Mellal.
Conservation status:
Currently, in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species it is listed at a global level as Vulnerable (VU) (Rhazi et al., 2010). In the Livre Rouge de la flore vasculaire du Maroc (Fennane, 2021) it has been considered as Endangered (EN).