Who named Euphorbia?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
June 13, 2003
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading—>Click here.
In his second volume of The Herbal or General Historie of Plants, John Gerard was most upset with an apparent error on the part of Pliny the Elder, "Pliny...putteth the herbe in the feminine gender, naming it Euphorbia..." Of course, he corrected Pliny, "...we are faine in English to use the Latine word, and to call both the herbe and juyce by the name of Euphorbium..." (In Gerard's day, any plant considered "barren", "unworthy", or "having no use" were given the feminine forms of Latinized names.)
When Linnaeus designated the spurges as Euphorbia, he was taking the name back to its ancient Roman name in the first century BCE. It originally applied to the plant now known as Euphorbia resinifera Berger.
According to The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1901), Euphorbus and his brother, Antonius Musa, were physicians. Antonius was physician to Octavian; Juba II grew up in Octavian's home and was probably friends with both
Antonius and Euphorbus.
Juba II was the "heir apparent" to the kingdom of Numidia (NE Libya) on the North African coast. It was conquered when Juba II was an infant and became a province of Rome. When Octavian became Caesar Augustus, he gave Mauritania, the lands west of Numidia, to Juba. Euphorbus went as family physician with Juba and Cleopatra Selene to Mauritania. (See What's in a Name? June 14, 2002)
King Juba II corresponded with Pliny, providing him with plant and animal descriptions. He was a king, scholar, natural historian, writer, and, it seems, a bit of an adventurer. When exploring the Atlas Mountains of modern day Morocco, Juba 'discovered' the succulent and named it Euphorbia to honor his friend and physician.
Botanical Online has a great photograph of Euphorbia resinifera. To view the photograph of Euphorbia resinifera, click on the link:
Click here to view the photograph
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
Who was King Juba? What's in a Name? - June 14 2002
What toxic resin was used on skin? Herbal Folklore - June 9, 2003
For what animal were the Canary Islands named? What's in a Name? - December 12, 2003
Euphorbia x lomi Plant of the Week 06/09/2003 - June 9, 2003
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