Euphorbia resinifera

Habit and origin

Euphorbia resinifera O.Berg is a stem succulent in the spurge family. It forms dense, rounded clumps of closely packed, ribbed stems bearing paired spines. Its tissues contain latex. The inflorescence structures of spurges, called cyathia, hold highly reduced flowers within a small common involucre. These characters connect the plant’s appearance with the distinctive structure of the genus Euphorbia [Taha et al. 2026] [Lee et al. 2024].

The species is native to Morocco. Research literature associates it with the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas. Plants of the World Online accepts the name Euphorbia resinifera and treats the historical combination Tithymalus resinifer as a synonym. The database also records its introduction to Spain, which is distinct from its native occurrence in northwestern Africa [2-WWW] [Taha et al. 2026].

DNA obtained from spines

In a study published in 2026, material was collected from a population in central Morocco. DNA was extracted from clipped spines, limiting injury to the fleshy stems. Genomic sequencing enabled the researchers to assemble the plastome, or chloroplast genome. The identification of the material was linked to herbarium voucher RAB114831, and the resulting sequence was deposited in GenBank as PZ168867. These records connect the molecular result with a documented plant [Taha et al. 2026].

The assembled plastome was 163 065 base pairs long. It comprised two single-copy regions and two copies of an inverted repeat. The authors reported 132 gene annotations, counting the copies duplicated within these repeats. Guanine and cytosine made up 35.11% of the sequence. These measurements describe the chloroplast genome examined. They do not establish nuclear genome size, chromosome number or the plant’s level of polyploidy [Taha et al. 2026].

Repeated sequences and marker limitations

The plastome contained 96 short repeated sequences, known as microsatellites or SSRs. Most were stretches of repeated A or T nucleotides. These regions may help researchers design DNA markers if further work demonstrates variation and reproducible genotyping. A list of microsatellites from one plastome does not measure population genetic diversity or gene flow between sites [Taha et al. 2026].

A comparison of complete plastomes placed E. resinifera close to Euphorbia ampliphylla. A separate analysis of the rpl22 gene also grouped the species together, and their compared sequences of this gene were identical. In this dataset, rpl22 therefore does not distinguish the two species. Differences in some other branches between the single-gene and whole-plastome trees show that the result depends on the DNA region analysed. Such comparisons require additional specimens and independent evidence, including nuclear markers, before they can settle species boundaries [Taha et al. 2026].

Value for conservation

The reference sequence facilitates the design of studies comparing plants from different parts of the range and tracking variation in their DNA. The 2026 study did not conduct such a population survey or a new abundance census. Its molecular resources provide a starting point for further monitoring. Effective conservation also requires field evidence on recruitment, plant survival and habitat change [Taha et al. 2026].

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