Croton fruticulosus |
Croton texensis |
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bush croton, encinilla, hierba loca, shrubby croton |
doveweed, goatweed, skunkweed, Texas croton |
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Habit | Shrubs, 2–10 dm, monoecious. | Herbs, annual, 2–7(–9) dm, dioecious. |
Stems | much branched distally, stellate-hairy. |
loosely 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. |
not clustered; stipules absent; petiole 0.3–2 cm, glands absent at apex; blade narrowly ovate-oblong to linear-lanceolate, 1–5 × 0.5–2 cm, base truncate to rounded or subcordate, margins entire, apex rounded to acute, abaxial surface pale green, densely whitish appressed stellate-hairy, adaxial surface darker green, less hairy. |
Inflorescences | bisexual, racemes, 3–12 cm, staminate flowers 10–20, pistillate flowers 2–5. |
unisexual; staminate racemes or irregularly branched panicles, 2–8 cm, flowers 10–30; pistillate racemes, 1–2 cm, flowers 1–6. |
Pedicels | staminate 2.5–4 mm, pistillate 0–0.5 mm. |
staminate 2–3 mm, pistillate 1–3 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. |
sepals 5, 1–2 mm, abaxial surface densely whitish appressed stellate-hairy; petals 0; stamens 8–12. |
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. |
sepals 5, equal, 1–1.5 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface densely stipitate-stellate-hairy; petals 0; ovary 3-locular; styles 3, 1–2 mm, multifid, terminal segments 12–32+. |
Capsules | 5–6 mm diam., smooth; columella apex with 3 rounded, inflated lobes. |
5–8 × 4–5.5 mm, verrucose; columella 3-winged. |
Seeds | 4–5 × 3.2–3.8 mm, shiny. |
3.5–4 × 2.5–3 mm, shiny. |
2n | = 28. |
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Croton fruticulosus |
Croton texensis |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Dec. | Flowering Jun–Nov. |
Habitat | Limestone or basalt hills. | Prairies, sandy creek beds, old fields, canyons, disturbed areas. |
Elevation | 100–1700 m. (300–5600 ft.) | 50–2000 m. (200–6600 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas)
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AL; AZ; CO; DE; FL; IA; IL; KS; MD; MO; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; UT; WI; WV; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
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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.) |
Croton texensis, despite being annual, grows larger than the related perennial C. dioicus. Croton texensis has verrucose fruits similar to those of the closely related C. parksii. There is a single specimen of Croton texensis from Massachusetts, collected at a dump in Boston in 1890, but the species did not become established there. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 214. | FNA vol. 12, p. 224. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Hendecandra texensis, C. luteovirens, C. texensis var. utahensis, C. virens | |
Name authority | Engelmann ex Torrey: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 194. (1859) — (as fruticulosum) | (Klotzsch) Müller Arg.: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 692. (1866) |
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