Croton punctatus |
Croton humilis |
|
---|---|---|
beach tea, gulf croton, hierba de jabalí |
low croton, pepperbush, salvia |
|
Habit | Shrubs, 3–10 dm, monoecious or sometimes appearing dioecious. | Shrubs, 3–8 dm, monoecious. |
Stems | trichotomously branching, stellate-hairy to stellate-lepidote. |
much branched, stellate-hairy, viscid. |
Leaves | not clustered; stipules absent; petiole 1–4 cm, 1/2 to equal blade length, glands absent at apex; blade broadly elliptic to suborbiculate, 2–5 × 1.5–4 cm, much less than 2 times as long as wide, base rounded to truncate, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface pale grayish green, stellate-lepidote, adaxial surface slightly darker green, stellate-lepidote. |
not clustered; stipules 2–5 stipitate glands, to 0.5 mm; petiole 0.7–3(–5) cm, 3/8–5/8 leaf blade length, glands absent at apex; blade ovate to oblong, 1.5–8 × 1–2(–5) cm, base rounded to subcordate, margins entire to minutely glandular-denticulate, apex abruptly acute to acuminate, both surfaces pale green, abaxial densely stellate-hairy, adaxial tomentose, glabrescent. |
Inflorescences | unisexual or bisexual, racemes, 1–4 cm, staminate flowers 3–7, pistillate flowers 1–3. |
bisexual or unisexual, racemes, 3–7 cm, staminate flowers 20–35, pistillate flowers 2–6. |
Pedicels | staminate 2–4 mm, pistillate 0–1 mm. |
staminate 3–4 mm, pistillate 1–2(–3) mm. |
Staminate flowers | sepals 5–6, 2.5 mm, abaxial surface stellate-lepidote; petals 0; stamens 10–13. |
sepals 5, 3–4 mm, abaxial surface stellate-hairy; petals 5, spatulate, 3–4 mm, abaxial surface glabrous except margins ciliate basally; stamens 15–35. |
Pistillate flowers | sepals 5, equal, 3–3.5 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface stellate-lepidote; petals 0; ovary 3-locular; styles 3, 1–2 mm, multifid, terminal segments 12–24. |
sepals 5, equal, 4 mm, margins entire, sessile- or shortly stipitate-glandular, apex incurved, abaxial surface stellate-hairy; petals 0 or 5, white, subulate, 1 mm; ovary 3-locular; styles 3, 3–5 mm, 4-fid, terminal segments 12. |
Capsules | 5–8 × 7–9 mm, smooth; columella 3-winged. |
4–5 × 4 mm, smooth; columella apex with 3 rounded, inflated lobes. |
Seeds | 4.5–6 × 3.7–4.5 mm, dull. |
3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, shiny. |
2n | = 28. |
= 20. |
Croton punctatus |
Croton humilis |
|
Phenology | Flowering year-round. | Flowering year-round. |
Habitat | Beaches, dunes. | Hammocks, thickets, disturbed areas. |
Elevation | 0–20 m. (0–100 ft.) | 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; e Mexico; Central America; West Indies; n South America
|
FL; TX; e Mexico; se Mexico; West Indies |
Discussion | A report of Croton punctatus from Pennsylvania apparently was based on a transient appearance on ballast (E. T. Wherry et al. 1979). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Croton humilis is a mainly West Indian species extending from southernmost Florida (Collier and Monroe counties) to the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, and up the Caribbean coast of Mexico to southernmost Texas (Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Willacy, and Zapata counties). Texas plants have more stamens (30–35) than Florida plants (15–20). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 222. | FNA vol. 12, p. 217. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Croton | Euphorbiaceae > Croton |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. disjunctiflorus, C. maritimus, C. plukenetii | C. berlandieri |
Name authority | Jacquin: Collectanea 1: 166. (1787) — (as puntatum) | Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1276. (1759) — (as humile) |
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