Flora of North America species comparison

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Croton parksii

Croton glandulosus

Parks' croton

sand croton, sand or tooth-leaf or Tropic croton, tooth-leaf croton, Tropic croton, vente conmigo
Habit Herbs, annual, 5–15 dm, dioecious. Herbs, annual, 1–12 dm, monoecious.
Stems

much-branched distally, stellate-hairy.

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

not clustered;

stipules rudimentary;

petiole 0.5–1.5 cm, glands absent at apex;

blade elliptic, 2.5–6 × 1–2 cm, base rounded, margins entire, apex short-rounded, abaxial surface grayish green, densely stellate-tomentose, adaxial surface olive green, stellate-tomentose.

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.
Inflorescences

unisexual;

staminate subspicate to racemose or paniculate, 3–6 cm, flowers 3–20;

pistillate capitate, 0.1–0.7 cm, flowers 1–3.

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

staminate 0.5–2 mm, pistillate 0.5–1.5 mm (1–3.5 mm in fruit).

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

sepals (5–)6, 3 mm, abaxial surface lanose, margins ciliate;

petals 0;

stamens 10–15.

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, equal, 2 mm, margins entire, apex incurved and ± hooded, abaxial surface densely stellate-hairy;

petals 0;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 2 mm, irregularly 2–3 times 2-fid, terminal segments 24, forming matted cluster.

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

8–9 × 9–10 mm, verrucose;

columella 3-winged.

3.5–6 × 4–5 mm, smooth;

columella 3-angled.
Seeds

6–7 mm diam., shiny.

3–4 × 2–2.5 mm, shiny.
2n

= 16.

Croton parksii

Croton glandulosus
Phenology Flowering Jun–Dec.
Habitat Deep sandy soils.
Elevation 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
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]
Discussion

Croton parksii, found on the southern Gulf Coastal Plain, is closely related to C. texensis, with which it shares capsules with conspicuous scurfy bumps covered by stellate hairs. Although they appear to intergrade where their ranges overlap around Wilson County, they can generally be distinguished by C. parksii being more robust, with larger capsules and seeds, and more densely tomentose leaves.

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

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.)
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. 221. FNA vol. 12, p. 215.
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. leucophyllus, C. lindheimeri, C. lindheimerianus, C. linearis, C. michauxii, C. monanthogynus, 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. 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 Croizat: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 69: 445, 457. (1942) Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1275. (1759) — (as glandulosum)
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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