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Cory's croton

beach tea, gulf croton, hierba de jabalí

Habit Herbs, annual, 5–10 dm, monoecious. Shrubs, 3–10 dm, monoecious or sometimes appearing dioecious.
Stems

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

trichotomously branching, stellate-hairy to stellate-lepidote.

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.

not clustered;

stipules absent;

petiole 1–4 cm, 1/2 to equal blade length, glands absent at apex;

blade broadly elliptic to suborbiculate, 2–5 × 1.5–4 cm, much less than 2 times as long as wide, base rounded to truncate, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface pale grayish green, stellate-lepidote, adaxial surface slightly darker green, stellate-lepidote.

Inflorescences

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

unisexual or bisexual, racemes, 1–4 cm, staminate flowers 3–7, pistillate flowers 1–3.

Pedicels

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

staminate 2–4 mm, pistillate 0–1 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.

sepals 5–6, 2.5 mm, abaxial surface stellate-lepidote;

petals 0;

stamens 10–13.

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.

sepals 5, equal, 3–3.5 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface stellate-lepidote;

petals 0;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 1–2 mm, multifid, terminal segments 12–24.

Capsules

4.5–5.5 × 4 mm, smooth;

columella 3-angled.

5–8 × 7–9 mm, smooth;

columella 3-winged.

Seeds

3 × 2 mm, dull.

4.5–6 × 3.7–4.5 mm, dull.

2n

= 28.

Croton coryi

Croton punctatus

Phenology Flowering May–Nov. Flowering year-round.
Habitat Grasslands, woodland openings, deep well-drained sands, barrier island dunes, similar habitats inland. Beaches, dunes.
Elevation 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.) 0–20 m. (0–100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; e Mexico; Central America; West Indies; n South America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[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.)

A report of Croton punctatus from Pennsylvania apparently was based on a transient appearance on ballast (E. T. Wherry et al. 1979).

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

Source FNA vol. 12, p. 213. FNA vol. 12, p. 222.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Croton 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
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. leucophyllus, C. lindheimeri, C. lindheimerianus, C. linearis, C. michauxii, C. monanthogynus, C. parksii, C. pottsii, C. sancti-lazari, C. setigerus, C. soliman, C. sonorae, C. suaveolens, C. texensis, C. wigginsii
Synonyms C. disjunctiflorus, C. maritimus, C. plukenetii
Name authority Croizat: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 69: 446, 457. (1942) Jacquin: Collectanea 1: 166. (1787) — (as puntatum)
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