Croton texensis |
Croton argyranthemus |
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doveweed, goatweed, skunkweed, Texas croton |
healing croton, silver croton, silverleaf croton |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, 2–7(–9) dm, dioecious. | Herbs or subshrubs, annual or short-lived perennial, 1–6 dm, monoecious. |
Stems | loosely branched distally, stellate-hairy. |
several from base, branching distally into 2–4 branches, lepidote. |
Leaves | 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. |
not clustered; stipules subulate, 0.2 mm; petiole 0.2–1(–2) cm, glands absent at apex; blade on proximal parts of stems oval to narrowly obovate, on distal parts oblong to lanceolate-oblong or broadly elliptic, 1–5 × 0.5–2(–3) cm, base rounded to narrowed, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface silvery, densely lepidote, adaxial surface darker green, sparsely lepidote or glabrate. |
Inflorescences | unisexual; staminate racemes or irregularly branched panicles, 2–8 cm, flowers 10–30; pistillate racemes, 1–2 cm, flowers 1–6. |
bisexual, racemes, 2–5 cm, staminate flowers 15–35, pistillate flowers 2–8. |
Pedicels | staminate 2–3 mm, pistillate 1–3 mm. |
staminate 1–5 mm, pistillate 0–2 mm. |
Staminate flowers | sepals 5, 1–2 mm, abaxial surface densely whitish appressed stellate-hairy; petals 0; stamens 8–12. |
sepals 5, 5 mm, abaxial surface lepidote; petals 5, oblong-spatulate, 5 mm, abaxial surface densely lepidote, scales translucent, petals appearing hyaline; stamens 10–15. |
Pistillate flowers | 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+. |
sepals 5–7, connate for 1/2+ length, equal, 3–4 mm, margins entire, apex incurved, abaxial surface lepidote; petals 0; ovary 3-locular; styles 3, 2–4 mm, 1–3 times 2-fid at apex, terminal segments 6–24. |
Capsules | 5–8 × 4–5.5 mm, verrucose; columella 3-winged. |
5–6 × 3–4 mm, smooth; columella 3-angled. |
Seeds | 3.5–4 × 2.5–3 mm, shiny. |
4–5 × 2.5–3 mm, dull. |
2n | = 28. |
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Croton texensis |
Croton argyranthemus |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Nov. | Flowering Mar–Sep. |
Habitat | Prairies, sandy creek beds, old fields, canyons, disturbed areas. | Deep sandy soils in pinelands, pine-oak scrub, sandhills. |
Elevation | 50–2000 m. (200–6600 ft.) | 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AZ; CO; DE; FL; IA; IL; KS; MD; MO; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; UT; WI; WV; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
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AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; TX; Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas)
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Discussion | 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.) |
Croton argyranthemus is closely related to C. coryi. Although they have very different kinds of vegetative indumentum, the staminate petals are characteristically silvery-lepidote in both species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 224. | FNA vol. 12, p. 211. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Hendecandra texensis, C. luteovirens, C. texensis var. utahensis, C. virens | |
Name authority | (Klotzsch) Müller Arg.: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 692. (1866) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 215. (1803) — (as argyranthemum) |
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