Flora of North America species comparison

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Croton glandulosus

Croton glandulosus var. arenicola

sand croton, sand or tooth-leaf or Tropic croton, tooth-leaf croton, Tropic croton, vente conmigo
Photo is of parent taxon

sand croton
Habit Herbs, annual, 1–12 dm, monoecious. Plants 1–2 dm.
Stems

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

densely stellate-hairy, hairs appressed, radii equal.
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.

petiole apical glands sessile, circular when dry, 0.2 mm diam.;

blade 0.7–3.5 × 0.5–1.5 cm, length mostly 2 times width or less, firm-thick, marginal teeth rounded, both surfaces densely stellate-hairy;

base obscurely 3-veined.
Inflorescences

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

Pedicels

staminate 0.8–2 mm, pistillate 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.

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.

Capsules

3.5–6 × 4–5 mm, smooth;

columella 3-angled.

Seeds

3–4 × 2–2.5 mm, shiny.

2n

= 16.

Croton glandulosus

Croton glandulosus var. arenicola
Phenology Flowering year-round.
Habitat Beaches, old fields, disturbed sites, sandy waste places.
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
FL
[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.)

Variety arenicola is restricted to Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties. A. M. Ferguson (1901) treated a collection of this variety as Croton betulinus Vahl, but that is a distinct, perennial species from the West Indies.

(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. 215.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Croton Euphorbiaceae > Croton > Croton glandulosus
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. glandulosus var. floridanus, C. glandulosus var. lindheimeri, C. glandulosus var. pubentissimus, C. glandulosus var. septentrionalis
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. arenicola
Name authority Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1275. (1759) — (as glandulosum) (Small) B. W. van Ee, P. E. Berry & Ginzbarg: Harvard Pap. Bot. 14: 49. (2009)
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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