Flora of North America species comparison

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Croton leucophyllus

Croton wigginsii

two-color croton

Wiggins' croton
Habit Shrubs, 2–10 dm, dioecious.
Stems

densely branched, appressed-lepidote.
Leaves

not clustered;

stipules absent;

petiole 1–4 cm, usually less than 1/2 blade length, glands absent at apex;

blade narrowly elliptic to linear-oblong, 2–8.5 × 0.6–1.5 cm, more than 2 times as long as wide, base obtuse, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface pale green, adaxial surface darker green, both densely pale stellate-lepidote.
Inflorescences

unisexual, racemes or thyrses;

staminate 1–3.5(–10) cm, flowers 3–8(–15);

pistillate 0.5–1 cm, flowers 1–6.
Pedicels

staminate 1–7 mm, pistillate 1–2 mm (4–7 mm in fruit).
Staminate flowers

sepals 5, 1 mm, abaxial surface stellate-hairy;

petals 0;

stamens 10–15.
Pistillate flowers

sepals 5, equal, 2 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface stellate-lepidote;

petals 0;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 1.5–2.5 mm, 2–3 times 2-fid, terminal segments 12–24.
Capsules

7–10 × 6–8 mm, smooth;

columella 3-winged.
Seeds

6.5–7 × 2–3 mm, dull.
2n

= 28.

Croton leucophyllus

Croton wigginsii
Phenology Flowering Feb–May.
Habitat Sand dunes.
Elevation 10–100 m. (0–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX; ne Mexico
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; Mexico (Baja California, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).

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

Croton wigginsii is closely related to C. californicus but more robust in its habit and floral features, and is restricted to sand dunes in a limited area of the Sonoran Desert. In the flora area, C. wigginsii is known only from Yuma County, Arizona, and Imperial County, California.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 218. FNA vol. 12, p. 224.
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. 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
Subordinate taxa
C. leucophyllus var. leucophyllus
Synonyms Oxydectes leucophylla C. arenicola
Name authority Müller Arg.: Linnaea 34: 139. (1865) L. C. Wheeler: Contr. Gray Herb. 124: 37. (1939)
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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