In older classifications the genus was treated in the family Euphorbiaceae.
Webster's research included study of the diverse family Euphorbiaceae (spurges), on which he produced a large number of papers, and he lectured on plant systematics, biogeography, and the ecology of pollination.
Other plant and animal species that have been restored and protected include the red-legged tortoise, the Bridled Quail-dove, the Caribbean flamingo, the White-crowned Pigeon, Eggers' mallow tree, the Virgin Islands euphorb, Hohenberg's ground bromeliad, and a unique bromeliad found nowhere else.
Responding to Parker's letter, a writer identified only as 'H.M.C.' proposed that the word 'umdhlebe' is a derivative of the Zulu root hlaba, and speculated that the legend may have its origin in accounts of one or more members of the Spurge family.
Euphorbia milii (Euphorbiaceae), the Crown-of-thorns or Christ Plant, or
Hydnora africana, an achlorophyllous plant native to southern Africa parasitic on the roots of members of the Euphorbiaceae
The larvae feed on Asteraceae, Chenopodiaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Solanaceae species, but also on a number of agricultural crops.
Although the fungus is suspected to be mycorrhizal (like all Lactarius), there was a wide diversity of plant species growing in the open, dry forest where the mushroom was found (including members of the tree families Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Myrtaceae, Nyctaginaceae, and Polygonaceae—all known to form mycorrhizal associations), so the authors did not speculate on any specific interactions.
The remaining component of the thickets is dominated by members of the Burseraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Anacardiaceae and Fabaceae families of plants, all which have representatives elsewhere.
Macaranga, large genus of Old World tropical trees of the family Euphorbiaceae also known as Mappa.
To date, 242 species from 58 families and 158 genera have been described from the Montagne des Français; the five most important families that account for over 40% of the species are the Rubiaceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Sapindaceae.
The monophyly of Euphorbiaceae had long been held in doubt by some, but the first strong evidence of its polyphyly came in 1993 with the first maximum parsimony analysis of DNA sequences of the gene rbcL from a large number of seed plants.
Cnidoscolus stimulosus (Spurge Nettle), a plant of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae)