Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of
flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500
species. Most spurges are herbs, but some, especially in
the tropics, are shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and
resemble cacti. This family occurs mainly in the tropics,
with the majority of the species in the Indo-Malayan
region and tropical America. A large variety occurs in
tropical Africa, but they are not as abundant or varied as in
these two other tropical regions. However, Euphorbia also
has many species in non-tropical areas such as the
Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, South Africa, and
southern USA