Flora of North America species comparison

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Croton alabamensis

Croton alabamensis var. texensis

Alabama croton
Photo is of parent taxon

Alabama croton, Texabama croton
Habit Shrubs, 5–35 dm, monoecious.
Stems

usually well branched distally, lepidote.

Leaves

clustered at branch tips;

stipules absent;

petiole 0.6–2 cm, glands absent at apex;

blade elliptic, ovate, or oblong, 3–10 × 1.5–5 cm, base rounded to obtuse, margins entire, sometimes ± undulate, apex acute, rounded, or emarginate, abaxial surface silvery or coppery, densely lepidote, adaxial surface green, sparsely lepidote.

blades: abaxial surface coppery, some scales unpigmented, others with dark reddish brown center and reddish amber rays.
Inflorescences

bisexual or unisexual, racemes, 2–4.5 cm, staminate flowers 0–15, pistillate flowers 0–10.

6–14-flowered, producing 0–6 fruits.
Pedicels

staminate 2.2–4 mm, pistillate 2.2–7.5 mm (7–11 mm in fruit).

Staminate flowers

sepals 5, 1.1–2.9 mm, abaxial surface lepidote;

petals 5, oblong-ovate, 2–3.1 mm, abaxial surface glabrous except margins stellate-ciliate;

stamens 10–22.

Pistillate flowers

sepals 5, equal, 2–4.5 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface lepidote;

petals 5, pale green, ovate, 2–3.5 mm;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 2–5 mm, usually unbranched, rarely 2-fid, terminal segments 3 (or 6).

Capsules

1.6–2.5 × 2–3 mm, smooth;

columella 3-angled.

Seeds

6.7–8 × 5.2–6 mm, shiny.

Croton alabamensis

Croton alabamensis var. texensis
Phenology Flowering mostly late Feb–early Apr; fruiting mostly May–Jun.
Habitat Mesic hardwood forest understories, soils overlying limestone, canyon slopes, flat terraces.
Elevation 200–400 m. (700–1300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

B. W. van Ee et al. (2006) examined populations of Croton alabamensis using DNA sequence and AFLP data, and their results supported the recognition of two varieties and an isolated position in the genus. Buds develop in the summer and fall for the following spring's flowers.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Variety texensis is restricted to Bell, Coryell, and Travis counties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces silvery, scales mostly unpigmented or light amber, some dark blackish brown scales sometimes present; inflorescences 9–18-flowered, producing 0–11 fruits; Alabama.
var. alabamensis
1. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces coppery, some scales unpigmented, others with dark reddish brown center and reddish amber rays; inflorescences 6–14-flowered, producing 0–6 fruits; Texas.
var. texensis
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 210. FNA vol. 12, p. 211.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Croton Euphorbiaceae > Croton > Croton alabamensis
Sibling taxa
C. argenteus, C. argyranthemus, C. californicus, C. capitatus, C. ciliatoglandulifer, C. cortesianus, C. coryi, C. dioicus, C. elliottii, C. fruticulosus, C. glandulosus, C. heptalon, C. humilis, C. incanus, C. leucophyllus, C. lindheimeri, C. lindheimerianus, C. linearis, C. michauxii, C. monanthogynus, C. parksii, C. pottsii, C. punctatus, C. sancti-lazari, C. setigerus, C. soliman, C. sonorae, C. suaveolens, C. texensis, C. wigginsii
C. alabamensis var. alabamensis
Subordinate taxa
C. alabamensis var. alabamensis, C. alabamensis var. texensis
Name authority E. A. Smith ex Chapman: Fl. South. U.S. ed. 2, 648. (1883) Ginzbarg: Sida 15: 42, fig. 1. (1992)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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