Abstract
A broad review of the history, discovery, characteristics, distribution, habitats and relationships of the shrubby Euphorbia mlanjeana is provided. On Mt. Mulanje (Malawi) where it was hitherto listed as endemic to mountain and country, E. mlanjeana occurs in four populations occupying similar habitats and sharing similar habitat conditions on granitic rocks: two foothill populations (The Crater and Ruo Gorge), one along the upper Likhubula/Lichenya path, and the highest-lying one on the Lichenya plateau. The trunk height and the length of the branches decreases with increasing altitude, which is related to the increasingly unfavourable climatic conditions. Recent molecular data (Bruyns et al., 2011) show E. mlanjeana to be closest to two other shrubby species (E. knuthii and E. waterbergensis) which are all three placed amongst arborescent species, suggesting that the shrubby habit may have evolved from arborescent ancestors. In addition, three localities in northeastern Mozambique recently discovered by P. V. Bruyns are reported, so that E. mlanjeana is no longer an endemic of Mt. Mulanje and can be enlisted for the Flora of Mozambique.
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