Summary
The photosynthetic pathways of 42 species of the genusEuphorbia growing wild, naturalized or cultivated in Egypt were investigated. The criteria used included the δ13C- and δD-values and Kranz anatomy of the leaves. There is a relationship between the photosynthetic pathway and the ecological conditions in the habitat of a particular species. All 4 CAM species are succulent shrubs, wild or cultivated. The 11 species with C4 pathways are mainly summer annuals of tropical origin and flourish under the hot summer conditions. The 27 C3 species are either winter annuals, perennials, perennials flourishing in winter or shrubs; the majority are Mediterranean, European or Saharo-Arabian. Summer annuals with C3 pathways grow under the shade of the summer crops. Generally, C3 plants grow under conditions of relatively better water resources and lower temperature than the C4 plants. The majority of the CAM and C4 species occur in the southern part of the country, where high temperature is a common feature of the climate.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boissier E (1862)Euphorbiaceae, in De Candolle A (ed), Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis 15 (2), Paris
Downton WJS (1975) The occurrence of C4 photosynthesis among plants. Photosynthetica 9:96–105
Eder AMF (1980) Charakterisierung der CO2-Fixierungsmechanismen verschiedenerEuphorbia-Arten und einiger anderer Sukkulenter. Dissert. Inst. f. Botanik, TU München
El Hadidi MN (1973) The genusEuphorbia in Egypt. I-SectionAnisophyllum. Rep Bull Jard Bot Nat Belg 43:83–100
El Hadidi MN, Fayed AA (1978) Studies on the genusEuphorbia L. in Egypt. II-Systematic treatment. Taeckholmia 9:9–57
Hofstra JJ, Aksorkoae S, Atmowidjoha S, Banaag JF, Santosa Sastrohoetomo RA, Thu LTN (1972) A study on the occurrence of plants with a low CO2 compensation point in different habitats in the tropics. Ann Bogor 5:143–157
McWilliams EL (1970) Comparative rates of dark CO2 uptake and acidification in the Bromeliaceae, Orchidaceae, and Euphorbiaceae. Bot Gaz 131:285–290
Mooney HA, Troughton JH, Berry JA (1977) Carbon isotope measurements of succulent plants in southern Africa. Oecologia 3:295–305
Moss ON, Krenzer EG Jr, Brun WA (1969) Carbon dioxide compensation points in related plant species. Science 164:187–188
Osmond CB, Ziegler H, Stichler W, Trimborn P (1975) Carbon isotope discrimination in alpine succulent plants supposed to be capable of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM). Oecologia 18:209–217
Osmond CB, Winter K, Ziegler H (1982) Functional significance of different pathways of CO2 fixation in photosynthesis. In: Lange OL, Nobel PS, Osmond CB, Ziegler H (eds) Water relations and carbon assimilation. Encyclop. Plant Physiol. Vol 12 B, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 479–547
Pax F, Hoffmann K (1931)Euphorbiaceae, in Engler A, Prantl K, (eds) Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien. Vol. 19c: 11–233, 240, Fig. 6–123
Sankhla N, Ziegler H, Vyas OP, Stichler W, Trimborn P (1975) Eco-physiological studies on Indian arid zone plants. V. A screening of some species for the C4-pathway of photosynthetic CO2-fixation. Oecologia 21:123–129
Schiegl WE, Vogel JC (1970) Deuterium content of organic matter. Earth and Planet. Sci Lett 7:307–313
Taeckholm V (1974) Students' Flora of Egypt. Cairo Univ., Cairo
Webster GL, Brown WV, Smith BN (1975) Systematics of photosynthetic carbon fixation pathways inEuphorbia. Taxon 24:27–33
Welkie GW, Caldwell M (1970) Leaf anatomy of species in some dicotyledon families as related to the C3 and C4 pathways of carbon fixation. Can J Bot 48:2135–2146
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Batanouny, K.H., Stichler, W. & Ziegler, H. Photosynthetic pathways and ecological distribution ofEuphorbia species in Egypt. Oecologia 87, 565–569 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00320421
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00320421