Croton californicus |
Croton lindheimeri |
|
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California croton, desert croton |
goatweed, Lindheimer's hogwort, woolly croton |
|
Habit | Subshrubs or shrubs, 4–11 dm, dioecious. | Herbs, annual, 5–20 dm, monoecious, stems, leaves, and buds with yellow-brown (ochraceous) pubescence when young, becoming glabrate. |
Stems | loosely branched, stellate-lepidote. |
branching distally, stellate-hairy. |
Leaves | not clustered; stipules absent; petiole 1–3.5(–4.5) cm, usually less than 1/2 blade length, glands absent at apex; blade elliptic to narrowly oblong, 2–5.5(–7) × 0.8–2(–2.5) cm, usually more than 2 times as long as wide, base obtuse, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface light green, adaxial surface darker green, both stellate-lepidote. |
not clustered; stipules linear, 0–5 mm; petiole 1.5–7 cm, glands absent at apex; blade ovate-lanceolate, 3–7 × 1–3 cm, base cordate to rounded or subcordate, margins entire, apex acute, abaxial surface pale green, not appearing brown-dotted, no stellate hairs with brown centers, densely stellate-hairy, adaxial surface greener, more sparsely hairy. |
Inflorescences | unisexual, racemes or thyrses; staminate 0.5–3.5(–10) cm, flowers 3–8(–20); pistillate 0.5–1 cm, flowers 1–6. |
bisexual, racemes, 1.5–3 cm, staminate flowers 8–15, pistillate flowers 2–7. |
Pedicels | staminate 1–5.5(–7) mm, pistillate to 1 mm (1–3 mm in fruit). |
staminate 0.5–3 mm, pistillate 0–1 mm. |
Staminate flowers | sepals 5, 1 mm, abaxial surface stellate-lepidote; petals 0; stamens 10–15. |
sepals (4–)5, 1.5–2 mm, abaxial surface stellate-hairy; petals 5, linear-oblong, 1–1.5 mm, abaxial surface stellate-hairy; stamens 9–13. |
Pistillate flowers | sepals 5, equal, 2 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface stellate-lepidote; petals 0; ovary 3-locular; styles 3, 2–2.5 mm, 4-fid, terminal segments usually 12. |
sepals 7–8, equal, 5–7 mm, margins entire, apex straight to slightly incurved, abaxial surface yellowish woolly-tomentose; petals 0; ovary 3-locular; styles 3, 3–4 mm, 2 times 2-fid, terminal segments 12. |
Capsules | 6–8 × 5–7 mm, smooth; columella 3-winged. |
6–8 × 8–9 mm, smooth; columella tipped with 3-pronged grappling hooklike appendage. |
Seeds | 4–5.5 × 3.5–5.5 mm, dull. |
4–5 × 4–4.5 mm, shiny. |
2n | = 28. |
= 20. |
Croton californicus |
Croton lindheimeri |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Oct. | Flowering May–Dec. |
Habitat | Sandy soils, sage scrub, dunes, washes. | Old pastures, forest openings, bottomlands, fence rows, disturbed areas. |
Elevation | 0–900 m. (0–3000 ft.) | 0–300 m. (0–1000 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NV; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Sinaloa)
|
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MO; MS; SC; TN; TX
|
Discussion | Croton lindheimeri is very similar to C. capitatus, and the two can sometimes be found growing together in northeastern Texas. Croton lindheimeri can be distinguished by its more ochraceous pubescence on young growth, consistently acute leaf tips, somewhat more elongated pistillate part of the raceme, and pistillate sepal tips that do not recurve after anthesis. Croton lindheimeri was reported from Indiana, adventive on ballast in 1898, and from Kansas based on a single 1883 collection from Miami County, but apparently did not become established in either state. (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 | ||
Synonyms | Hendecandra procumbens, C. californicus var. longipes, C. californicus var. mohavensis, C. californicus var. tenuis, C. longipes, C. mohavensis, C. tenuis | Pilinophytum lindheimeri, C. capitatus var. lindheimeri |
Name authority | Müller Arg.: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 691. (1866) | (Engelmann & A. Gray) Alph. Wood: Class-book Bot. ed. s.n.(b), 631. (1861) |
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