Flora of North America species comparison

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Croton leucophyllus

Croton dioicus

two-color croton

grassland croton, hierba del gato, rosval, rubaldo
Habit Subshrubs, 2–5(–9) dm, dioecious.
Stems

well-branched from base, stellate-lepidote.
Leaves

not clustered;

stipules rudimentary or absent;

petiole 0.2–0.8(–2) cm, usually less than 1/2 blade length, glands absent at apex;

blade narrowly elliptic-ovate to lanceolate, 1–6.5 × 0.6–2.2 cm, usually less than 1/2 as wide as long, base rounded, margins entire, apex acute to rounded, abaxial surface pale green, densely silvery lepidote or stellate-lepidote, adaxial surface darker green, less densely lepidote.
Inflorescences

unisexual, racemes;

staminate 2–8 cm, flowers 4–16;

pistillate 0.5–1 cm, flowers 2–5.
Pedicels

staminate 1–4 mm, pistillate 2–5 mm.
Staminate flowers

sepals 5, 1 mm, abaxial surface lepidote;

petals 0;

stamens 10–12.
Pistillate flowers

sepals 5, equal, 1.5–2 mm, margins entire, apex straight to slightly incurved, abaxial surface stellate-lepidote;

petals 0;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 0.5–1.5 mm, 2–3 times 2-fid, terminal segments 12–24.
Capsules

5–6 mm diam., smooth;

columella 3-winged.
Seeds

3.5–5 × 3–4 mm, shiny or dull.
2n

= 28, 56.

Croton leucophyllus

Croton dioicus
Phenology Flowering Mar–Nov.
Habitat Limestone and igneous mountains, canyons, mesas, flats, disturbed areas.
Elevation 30–2000 m. (100–6600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX; ne Mexico
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NM; TX; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 218. FNA vol. 12, p. 214.
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. glandulosus, C. heptalon, C. humilis, C. incanus, 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. cortesianus, C. coryi, 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. leucophyllus var. leucophyllus
Synonyms Oxydectes leucophylla C. elaeagnifolius, C. gracilis, C. neomexicanus, C. vulpinus
Name authority Müller Arg.: Linnaea 34: 139. (1865) Cavanilles: Icon. 1: 4, plate 6. (1791) — (as dioicum)
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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