Flora of North America species comparison

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Croton glandulosus

Croton argyranthemus

sand croton, sand or tooth-leaf or Tropic croton, tooth-leaf croton, Tropic croton, vente conmigo

healing croton, silver croton, silverleaf croton
Habit Herbs, annual, 1–12 dm, monoecious. Herbs or subshrubs, annual or short-lived perennial, 1–6 dm, monoecious.
Stems

much branched distally, usually coarsely stellate-hairy, rarely glabrescent.

several from base, branching distally into 2–4 branches, lepidote.
Leaves

not clustered;

stipules linear-subulate, glandular or not, to 0.5 mm or absent;

petiole 0.2–1 cm, glands at apex 2, yellow, sessile to shortly stipitate, cuplike;

blade ovate proximally, oblong-lanceolate distally, 0.6–3.5(–7) × 0.3–1.5(–3) cm, base obtuse to truncate, margins coarsely crenate to serrate-dentate, apex obtuse to rounded, both surfaces green, stellate-hairy, glabrate, or rarely glabrous.

not clustered;

stipules subulate, 0.2 mm;

petiole 0.2–1(–2) cm, glands absent at apex;

blade on proximal parts of stems oval to narrowly obovate, on distal parts oblong to lanceolate-oblong or broadly elliptic, 1–5 × 0.5–2(–3) cm, base rounded to narrowed, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface silvery, densely lepidote, adaxial surface darker green, sparsely lepidote or glabrate.
Inflorescences

bisexual, racemes, 1–3 cm, staminate flowers 10–20, pistillate flowers 1–4.

bisexual, racemes, 2–5 cm, staminate flowers 15–35, pistillate flowers 2–8.
Pedicels

staminate 0.8–2 mm, pistillate 0–5 mm.

staminate 1–5 mm, pistillate 0–2 mm.
Staminate flowers

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

petals 5, oblanceolate, 1–1.3 mm, abaxial surface glabrous except margins ciliate;

stamens 7–13.

sepals 5, 5 mm, abaxial surface lepidote;

petals 5, oblong-spatulate, 5 mm, abaxial surface densely lepidote, scales translucent, petals appearing hyaline;

stamens 10–15.
Pistillate flowers

sepals 5, subequal, 6–7.5 mm, margins entire, apex straight to slightly incurved, abaxial surface glabrous except stellate-hairy apically;

petals 0 or 5, rudimentary;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 1–2.5 mm, deeply 2-fid, terminal segments 6.

sepals 5–7, connate for 1/2+ length, equal, 3–4 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface lepidote;

petals 0;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 2–4 mm, 1–3 times 2-fid at apex, terminal segments 6–24.
Capsules

3.5–6 × 4–5 mm, smooth;

columella 3-angled.

5–6 × 3–4 mm, smooth;

columella 3-angled.
Seeds

3–4 × 2–2.5 mm, shiny.

4–5 × 2.5–3 mm, dull.
2n

= 16.

Croton glandulosus

Croton argyranthemus
Phenology Flowering Mar–Sep.
Habitat Deep sandy soils in pinelands, pine-oak scrub, sandhills.
Elevation 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NM; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; TX; Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties ca. 20 (5 in the flora).

Croton glandulosus is widespread in the New World, with a complex pattern of variation. The classification here follows B. W. van Ee et al. (2009).

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

Croton argyranthemus is closely related to C. coryi. Although they have very different kinds of vegetative indumentum, the staminate petals are characteristically silvery-lepidote in both species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blades glabrate or sparsely to moderately stellate-hairy.
→ 2
2. Plants 2–12 dm; leaf blades 2–7 cm.
var. septentrionalis
2. Plants 1–2 dm; leaf blades 0.6–2(–3) cm.
→ 3
3. Leaf blades glabrate, bases markedly 3-veined; petiole apical glands sessile; Florida.
var. floridanus
3. Leaf blades sparsely stellate-hairy, bases obscurely 3-veined; petiole apical glands stipitate; Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas.
var. lindheimeri
1. Leaf blades moderately to densely stellate-hairy.
→ 4
4. Leaf blades firm-thick, length mostly 2 times width or less, marginal teeth rounded; petiole apical glands sessile.
var. arenicola
4. Leaf blades membranous, length mostly more than 2 times width, marginal teeth pointed; petiole apical glands sessile or stipitate.
→ 5
5. Leaf blades 1–2(–3) × 0.3–0.8(–1.3) cm; petiole apical glands stipitate, circular when dry, 0.1–0.4 mm diam.
var. lindheimeri
5. Leaf blades 2–7 × 0.7–3 cm; petiole apical glands sessile, wavy-wrinkled when dry, 0.5–0.8 mm diam.
→ 6
6. Stems densely stellate-hairy, hairs spreading, radii unequal; leaf blades densely stellate-villous.
var. pubentissimus
6. Stems moderately stellate-hairy, hairs appressed, radii equal; leaf blades moderately stellate-hairy.
var. septentrionalis
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 215. FNA vol. 12, p. 211.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Croton 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. fruticulosus, 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. 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. punctatus, C. sancti-lazari, C. setigerus, C. soliman, C. sonorae, C. suaveolens, C. texensis, C. wigginsii
Subordinate taxa
C. glandulosus var. arenicola, C. glandulosus var. floridanus, C. glandulosus var. lindheimeri, C. glandulosus var. pubentissimus, C. glandulosus var. septentrionalis
Synonyms Decarinium glandulosum, Geiseleria glandulosa, Oxydectes glandulosa
Name authority Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1275. (1759) — (as glandulosum) Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 215. (1803) — (as argyranthemum)
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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