Croton sancti-lazari |
Croton punctatus |
|
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trans-Pecos croton |
beach tea, gulf croton, hierba de jabalí |
|
Habit | Shrubs, 1–4 dm, dioecious. | Shrubs, 3–10 dm, monoecious or sometimes appearing dioecious. |
Stems | much branched proximally, coarsely stellate-tomentose. |
trichotomously branching, stellate-hairy to stellate-lepidote. |
Leaves | not clustered; stipules each 1 glandular papilla, 0.1 mm; petiole 0.1–0.4(–0.6) cm, 1/10–1/5 blade length, glands absent at apex; blade ovate to elliptic-ovate, 1–3(–4.5) × 0.5–1.5(–2) cm, base usually rounded to obtuse, rarely acute, margins entire, apex acute or rounded, abaxial surface pale green to pale yellow, stellate-tomentose, adaxial surface darker green, stellate-tomentose. |
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. |
Inflorescences | unisexual; staminate racemes, 1–3.3 cm, flowers 1–8; pistillate congested racemes, 0.1–0.3 cm, flowers 1–3. |
unisexual or bisexual, racemes, 1–4 cm, staminate flowers 3–7, pistillate flowers 1–3. |
Pedicels | staminate 1 mm, pistillate 0–0.5 mm. |
staminate 2–4 mm, pistillate 0–1 mm. |
Staminate flowers | sepals (4–)5, 2 mm, abaxial surface stellate-hairy; petals (4–)5, narrowly oblanceolate, 1.8–2 mm, abaxial surface nearly glabrous; stamens 9–12. |
sepals 5–6, 2.5 mm, abaxial surface stellate-lepidote; petals 0; stamens 10–13. |
Pistillate flowers | sepals 5, equal, 1 mm, margins entire, apex straight to slightly incurved, abaxial surface stellate-hairy; petals 0 or rudimentary; ovary 3-locular; styles 3, 1.5–2 mm, 2-fid to base, terminal segments 6. |
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. |
Capsules | 4–5 × 5.5–6 mm, smooth; columella apex with 3 rounded, inflated lobes. |
5–8 × 7–9 mm, smooth; columella 3-winged. |
Seeds | 3.6–4.7 × 2.8–3.4 mm, shiny. |
4.5–6 × 3.7–4.5 mm, dull. |
2n | = 28. |
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Croton sancti-lazari |
Croton punctatus |
|
Phenology | Flowering Oct–Nov. | Flowering year-round. |
Habitat | Rocky hillsides. | Beaches, dunes. |
Elevation | 900–1200 m. (3000–3900 ft.) | 0–20 m. (0–100 ft.) |
Distribution |
TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila) |
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; e Mexico; Central America; West Indies; n South America
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Discussion | Croton sancti-lazari in the flora area grows only in Brewster and Presidio counties. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 222. | FNA vol. 12, p. 222. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. abruptus | C. disjunctiflorus, C. maritimus, C. plukenetii |
Name authority | Croizat: J. Arnold Arbor. 26: 185. (1945) | Jacquin: Collectanea 1: 166. (1787) — (as puntatum) |
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