Flora of North America species comparison

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Croton argenteus

Croton leucophyllus

silver July croton

two-color croton
Habit Herbs, annual, 2–12 dm, monoecious.
Stems

branching once into 2–3 branches, tomentose.

Leaves

sometimes clustered near inflorescences;

stipules linear-subulate, 4–11 mm, unlobed or deeply divided;

petiole 0.3–8 cm, glands absent at apex;

blade ovate to ovate-oblong, 2–15 × 1.5–8 cm, base obtuse, cuneate, or subtruncate, margins denticulate, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface pale green, not appearing brown-dotted, no stellate hairs with brown centers, densely stellate-hairy, adaxial surface green, less densely stellate-hairy.

Inflorescences

bisexual, congested racemes, 1–4 cm, staminate flowers 4–10, pistillate flowers 3–6.

Pedicels

staminate 2–3 mm, pistillate 1–4 mm (3–5 mm in fruit).

Staminate flowers

sepals 5, 1.5–2 mm, abaxial surface stellate-hairy;

petals 5, oblong, 2–3 mm, abaxial surface glabrous except margins ciliate;

stamens 10–13.

Pistillate flowers

sepals 5, unequal, 4–8 mm, margins deeply laciniate, apex incurved, abaxial surface stellate-hairy;

petals 0;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 2–3 mm, 4-fid, terminal segments 12.

Capsules

5 × 7 mm, smooth;

columella 3-angled.

Seeds

3.2–3.8 × 2.4–3 mm, dull.

Croton argenteus

Croton leucophyllus
Phenology Flowering Jun–Dec.
Habitat Disturbed sites, waste areas, levees.
Elevation 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX; e Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; ne Mexico
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Croton argenteus, which in the flora area is known only from Cameron and Hidalgo counties, may be a fairly recent introduction into the United States; the earliest known collections date from 1923.

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

Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 211. FNA vol. 12, p. 218.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Croton Euphorbiaceae > Croton
Sibling taxa
C. alabamensis, 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, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
C. leucophyllus var. leucophyllus
Synonyms family euphorbiaceae Julocroton argenteus Oxydectes leucophylla
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1004. (1753) — (as argenteum) Müller Arg.: Linnaea 34: 139. (1865)
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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