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Cory's croton

Habit Herbs, annual, 5–10 dm, monoecious.
Stems

trichotomously branched, mostly densely, grayish white, long stellate-hairy.

Leaves

sometimes clustered near inflorescences;

stipules absent;

petiole 1.5–4 cm, glands absent at apex;

blade narrowly ovate to elliptic, 3.5–7 × 1.5–3.5 cm, base rounded to subtruncate or subcordate, margins entire, apex acute, both surfaces light olive green, abaxial surface not appearing brown-dotted, no stellate hairs with brown centers, whitish stellate-hispid.

Inflorescences

bisexual, subspicate racemes, 4–7 cm, staminate flowers 15–25, pistillate flowers 8–15.

Pedicels

staminate 0.5–2.5 mm, pistillate 0–3 mm.

Staminate flowers

sepals 5, 3 mm, abaxial surface stellate-hairy;

petals 5, ligulate, 3–3.5 mm, abaxial surface densely lepidote, scales translucent, petals appearing hyaline;

stamens 14–16.

Pistillate flowers

sepals 6–8, equal, 7 mm, margins entire, apex straight to slightly incurved, abaxial surface shaggy-tomentose;

petals 0 or rudimentary;

ovary 3-locular;

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

Capsules

4.5–5.5 × 4 mm, smooth;

columella 3-angled.

Seeds

3 × 2 mm, dull.

Croton coryi

Phenology Flowering May–Nov.
Habitat Grasslands, woodland openings, deep well-drained sands, barrier island dunes, similar habitats inland.
Elevation 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Croton coryi is endemic to the South Texas Sand Sheet of coastal southern Texas (Brooks, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, Starr, and Willacy counties). Despite the marked difference in vegetative indumenta, C. coryi is closely related to C. argyranthemus. The most obvious feature linking them is the silvery lepidote staminate petals.

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

Source FNA vol. 12, p. 213.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Croton
Sibling taxa
C. alabamensis, C. argenteus, C. argyranthemus, C. californicus, C. capitatus, C. ciliatoglandulifer, C. cortesianus, 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
Name authority Croizat: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 69: 446, 457. (1942)
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