Flora of North America species comparison

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Croton glandulosus

Croton cortesianus

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

Cortez's croton, palillo
Habit Herbs, annual, 1–12 dm, monoecious. Shrubs, 10–30 dm, dioecious.
Stems

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

di- or trichotomously branched, stellate-hairy, young stems often blackened by fungus.
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 rudimentary;

petiole 1–1.5 cm, 1/6–1/3 leaf blade length, glands absent at apex;

blade narrowly obovate, oblong, elliptic, or lanceolate, 3–10 × 1–5 cm, mostly less than 3.5 times as long as wide, base subacute to rounded, margins minutely denticulate, apex acute or acuminate, abaxial surface light green, densely ochraceous stellate-hispid when young, pale stellate-hairy when mature, adaxial surface darker green, glabrous.
Inflorescences

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

unisexual, racemes; staminate 7–20 cm, flowers 10–30; pistillate 1–5 cm, flowers 8–20(–30).
Pedicels

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

staminate 0–1 mm, pistillate 0–0.5 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, 2.5 mm, abaxial surface stellate-hairy;

petals 5, oblong, 3 mm, abaxial surface glabrous except margins ciliate basally;

stamens 12–16.
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, equal, 1–1.5 mm, margins entire, apex straight to slightly incurved, abaxial surface stellate-hispid;

petals rudimentary;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 4–5 mm, 2-fid, terminal segments 6.
Capsules

3.5–6 × 4–5 mm, smooth;

columella 3-angled.

5–6 × 4.5–5.5 mm, smooth;

columella apex with 3 rounded, inflated lobes.
Seeds

3–4 × 2–2.5 mm, shiny.

4–5 × 3–3.5 mm, shiny (with silvery sheen).
2n

= 16.

= 20.

Croton glandulosus

Croton cortesianus
Phenology Flowering Feb–Oct, possibly year-round.
Habitat Scrub forests.
Elevation 0–50 m. (0–200 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
TX; e Mexico; se Mexico; Central America
[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 cortesianus is known in the flora area only from Cameron, Hidalgo, and Starr counties.

(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. 213.
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. argyranthemus, C. californicus, C. capitatus, C. ciliatoglandulifer, 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 C. chichenensis, C. trichocarpus
Name authority Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1275. (1759) — (as glandulosum) Kunth: in A. von Humboldt et al., Nov. Gen. Sp. 2(fol.): 66; 2(qto.): 83. (1817)
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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