Flora of North America species comparison

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Croton setigerus

Croton texensis

dove weed, fish poison, turkey mullein

doveweed, goatweed, skunkweed, Texas croton
Habit Herbs, annual, 0.5–5 dm, monoecious. Herbs, annual, 2–7(–9) dm, dioecious.
Stems

densely and dichotomously shortly branched, forming loose, prostrate circular mats 5–80 cm across, proximally bristly stellate-hairy, central radii spreading, 2–3 mm.

loosely branched distally, stellate-hairy.
Leaves

mostly clustered near inflorescences;

stipules rudimentary;

petiole 0.3–5 cm, glands absent at apex;

blade ovate to rhombic, 0.8–6.5 × 0.8–4 cm, base cuneate, margins entire, apex obtuse, abaxial surface pale grayish green, adaxial surface grayish green, both densely stellate-hairy.

not clustered;

stipules absent;

petiole 0.3–2 cm, glands absent at apex;

blade narrowly ovate-oblong to linear-lanceolate, 1–5 × 0.5–2 cm, base truncate to rounded or subcordate, margins entire, apex rounded to acute, abaxial surface pale green, densely whitish appressed stellate-hairy, adaxial surface darker green, less hairy.
Inflorescences

unisexual;

staminate dense capitate clusters, 1–2 cm, flowers 2–10;

pistillate clusters, 1–2 cm, flowers 1–3.

unisexual;

staminate racemes or irregularly branched panicles, 2–8 cm, flowers 10–30;

pistillate racemes, 1–2 cm, flowers 1–6.
Pedicels

staminate 0–1 mm, pistillate absent.

staminate 2–3 mm, pistillate 1–3 mm.
Staminate flowers

sepals 5–6, 2–2.5 mm, abaxial surface densely stellate-hairy;

petals 0;

stamens 5–9.

sepals 5, 1–2 mm, abaxial surface densely whitish appressed stellate-hairy;

petals 0;

stamens 8–12.
Pistillate flowers

sepals 0;

petals 0;

ovary 1-locular;

style 1, 2–3 mm, unbranched.

sepals 5, equal, 1–1.5 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface densely stipitate-stellate-hairy;

petals 0;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 1–2 mm, multifid, terminal segments 12–32+.
Capsules

follicular (1-seeded), 3–6 × 2–3 mm, smooth;

columella absent.

5–8 × 4–5.5 mm, verrucose;

columella 3-winged.
Seeds

3–5 × 2–3 mm, shiny.

3.5–4 × 2.5–3 mm, shiny.
2n

= 20.

= 28.

Croton setigerus

Croton texensis
Phenology Flowering Jun–Oct. Flowering Jun–Nov.
Habitat Coastal sage scrub, foothill woodlands, valley grasslands, oak woodlands, edges of fields, dry stream beds, disturbed areas, roadsides. Prairies, sandy creek beds, old fields, canyons, disturbed areas.
Elevation 0–1900 m. (0–6200 ft.) 50–2000 m. (200–6600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; ID; NV; OR; UT; WA; Mexico (Baja California) [Introduced s South America (Chile), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AL; AZ; CO; DE; FL; IA; IL; KS; MD; MO; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; UT; WI; WV; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Croton setigerus is nearly unique in the genus with its one-locular fruit, single unbranched style, and pistillate flowers devoid of any perianth. The foliage is toxic to animals, and the crushed plants were used by Native Americans to stupefy fish. The seeds are palatable to birds, giving rise to the common names cited above. Individual plants produce either mottled, striped, or solid gray or black seeds. Gray seeds are produced by desiccating plants and appear to be much less palatable to doves than the other color morphs (A. D. Cook et al. 1971).

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

Croton texensis, despite being annual, grows larger than the related perennial C. dioicus. Croton texensis has verrucose fruits similar to those of the closely related C. parksii.

There is a single specimen of Croton texensis from Massachusetts, collected at a dump in Boston in 1890, but the species did not become established there.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 223. 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. leucophyllus, C. lindheimeri, C. lindheimerianus, C. linearis, C. michauxii, C. monanthogynus, C. parksii, C. pottsii, C. punctatus, C. sancti-lazari, 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. wigginsii
Synonyms Eremocarpus setigerus Hendecandra texensis, C. luteovirens, C. texensis var. utahensis, C. virens
Name authority Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 141. (1838) — (as setigerum) (Klotzsch) Müller Arg.: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 692. (1866)
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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