Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Croton sonorae

Croton linearis

Sonora croton, Sonoran croton

grannybush, pineland croton
Habit Shrubs, 8–16 dm, monoecious. Shrubs, 10–20 dm, dioecious.
Stems

much-branched distally, canescent when young, becoming glabrate.

well branched from base, stellate-hairy.
Leaves

sometimes clustered near inflorescences;

stipules subulate, to 1 mm;

petiole 0.4–1 cm, 1/4–1/2 leaf blade length, glands absent at apex;

blade ovate to broadly lanceolate, 0.8–4 × 0.6–2 cm, base cuneate to rounded or cordate, margins entire, not undulate, ciliate-glandular, apex acute to acuminate, abaxial surface pale green, sparsely whitish stellate-hairy, adaxial surface darker green, glabrate.

not clustered;

stipules rudimentary;

petiole 0.3–1 cm, 1/10–1/7 leaf blade length, often with 2 sessile or stipitate glands at apex;

blade linear to narrowly oblong, 3–7 × 0.3–1.5 cm, mostly more than 4 times as long as wide, base cuneate to obtuse, margins entire, apex obtuse to acute, abaxial surface whitish yellow, densely appressed stellate-hairy, adaxial surface green, glabrous or minutely stellate-puberulent.
Inflorescences

bisexual or staminate, racemes, 2–14 cm, staminate flowers 10–25, pistillate flowers 3–5(–8).

unisexual, racemes;

staminate 4–10 cm, flowers 10–30;

pistillate 3–5 cm, flowers 5–12.
Pedicels

staminate 1–1.5 mm, pistillate 1–4 mm.

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

sepals 5, 1–1.5 mm, abaxial surface sparsely stellate-hairy;

petals 5, lanceolate, 1.5–2 mm, abaxial surface glabrous except margins villous;

stamens 13–16.

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

petals 5–6, spatulate, obtuse, 1.5–2.5 mm, abaxial surface glabrous except margins ciliate;

stamens 12–17.
Pistillate flowers

sepals 5, equal, 1.5–2 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface sparsely stellate-hairy;

petals papillae, 0.5 mm;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 2–3 mm, 2-fid, terminal segments 6.

sepals 5, equal, 2.5–3.5 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface canescent;

petals rudimentary or 0;

ovary 3-locular;

styles 3, 2–3 mm, 2-fid, terminal segments 6.
Capsules

7–8 × 5–6 mm, smooth;

columella apex with 3 rounded, inflated lobes.

5–7 × 4–5 mm, smooth;

columella with 3 rounded, inflated lobes.
Seeds

6–7 × 3–4 mm, shiny.

3–4 × 1.5–2 mm, dull.

Croton sonorae

Croton linearis
Phenology Flowering Jul–Sep. Flowering year-round.
Habitat Rocky slopes, desert scrub. Rocky limestone pinelands, coastal areas.
Elevation 500–1100 m. (1600–3600 ft.) 0–30 m. (0–100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; Mexico (Baja California, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; West Indies
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Croton sonorae is widely distributed in Mexico and extends into southern Arizona in Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal counties.

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

Croton linearis in the flora area is found only in Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe (Keys only), Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties.

There has been some confusion in the past with the application of the name C. cascarilla (Linnaeus) Linnaeus to this taxon, but C. cascarilla is now considered to be a synonym of the West Indian C. eluteria (Linnaeus) W. Wright (B. W. van Ee and P. E. Berry 2010b).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 223. FNA vol. 12, p. 219.
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. setigerus, C. soliman, 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. michauxii, C. monanthogynus, C. parksii, C. pottsii, C. punctatus, C. sancti-lazari, C. setigerus, C. soliman, C. sonorae, C. suaveolens, C. texensis, C. wigginsii
Synonyms C. attenuatus, C. pringlei C. fergusonii
Name authority Torrey: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 194. (1859) Jacquin: Enum. Syst. Pl., 32. (1760) — (as lineare)
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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers