||Eu*phor"bi*a (?), n. [NL., fr. L. euphorbea. See Euphorrium.] (Bot.) Spurge, or bastard spurge, a genus of plants of many species, mostly shrubby, herbaceous succulents, affording an acrid, milky juice. Some of them are armed with thorns. Most of them yield powerful emetic and cathartic products.

• Large, cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants, and basis for the name of the plant family Euphorbiaceae. Individual species in the genus may grow as herbs, shrubs, or trees, but all typically have latex and paired spines.