Flora of North America species comparison

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Croton fruticulosus

bush croton, encinilla, hierba loca, shrubby croton
Habit Shrubs, 2–10 dm, monoecious.
Stems

much branched distally, stellate-hairy.
Leaves

not clustered;

stipules rudimentary or absent;

petiole 0.4–1(–1.5) cm, 1/8–1/5 blade length, glands absent at apex;

blade ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 2–8 × 2–4 cm, base truncate to cordate, margins serrulate, often slightly undulate, apex attenuate, acute, abaxial surface pale green, stellate-hairy, adaxial surface darker green, puberulent.
Inflorescences

bisexual, racemes, 3–12 cm, staminate flowers 10–20, pistillate flowers 2–5.
Pedicels

staminate 2.5–4 mm, pistillate 0–0.5 mm.
Staminate flowers

sepals 5, 0.8–1.2 mm, abaxial surface stellate-tomentose;

petals 5, oblanceolate to spatulate, 2 mm, abaxial surface glabrous except margins densely fimbrillate-villous;

stamens 9–16.
Pistillate flowers

sepals 5, equal, 2.2 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface stellate-hairy;

petals 0;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 3–4.5 mm, 2-fid to base, terminal segments 6.
Capsules

5–6 mm diam., smooth;

columella apex with 3 rounded, inflated lobes.
Seeds

4–5 × 3.2–3.8 mm, shiny.

Croton fruticulosus
Phenology Flowering May–Dec.
Habitat Limestone or basalt hills.
Elevation 100–1700 m. (300–5600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas)
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Discussion

Croton fruticulosus is known in the flora area from southeastern Arizona through southern New Mexico and trans-Pecos Texas to the Edwards Plateau.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 214.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Croton
Sibling taxa
C. alabamensis, C. argenteus, C. argyranthemus, C. californicus, C. capitatus, C. ciliatoglandulifer, C. cortesianus, C. coryi, C. dioicus, C. elliottii, 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 Engelmann ex Torrey: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 194. (1859) — (as fruticulosum)
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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