Euphorbia abramsiana |
Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
|
---|---|---|
Abrams' sandmat, Abrams' spurge |
American ipecac, Carolina ipecac, ipecac spurge |
|
Habit | Herbs, annual, with slender taproot. | Herbs, perennial, with deep, stout rootstock. |
Stems | prostrate, mat-forming, 10–35(–50) cm, shortly pilose or puberulent at least proximally, often glabrous distally. |
decumbent or slightly ascending, branched, often densely clumped, previous year's dead stems not persistent, 17–27 cm, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely villous. |
Leaves | opposite; stipules distinct, divided into 5–7 subulate-filiform segments, 0.6–1.1 mm, usually glabrous, rarely pilose; petiole 0.5–1 mm, glabrous; blade ovate, elliptic-oblong, or slightly ovate-cordate, 3–11 × 2–5 mm, base asymmetric, truncate to hemicordate, margins serrulate at least toward apex, often entire toward base, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces sometimes with red spot in center, glabrous; usually only the midvein conspicuous. |
alternate; stipules 0.1–0.2 mm; petiole (0–)1–2 mm, glabrous; blade usually linear, obovate, or oblanceolate to orbiculate, rarely filiform, proximal greatly reduced, scalelike, 15–70 × 1.5–13 mm gradually smaller proximally, base cuneate, margins entire, apex rounded, broadly acute, or emarginate, surfaces glabrous; venation occasionally obscure on smaller leaves, midvein conspicuous. |
Involucre | obconic, 0.5–0.6 × 0.4–0.5 mm, glabrous; glands 4, yellowish to pink, circular to oblong, 0.1 × 0.1–0.2 mm; appendages absent, or white to pink, semicircular to broadly ovate, to 0.1 × 0.2 mm, distal margin entire or shallowly lobed. |
yellow or yellow-green, hemispheric, 1–1.2 × 2–2.4 mm, glabrous; glands 5, yellow or yellow-green, obovate or elliptic, 0.7–0.8 × 1–1.2 mm; appendages white or green, often forming narrow rim around distal margin of gland, 0–0.2 mm, entire. |
Staminate flowers | 3–5. |
10–20. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.1–0.3 mm, 2-fid nearly entire length. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.4–0.8 mm, 2-fid at apex. |
Capsules | ellipsoid to ovoid, 1.3–1.5 × 1.1–1.5 mm, glabrous; columella 1–1.3 mm. |
globose, 2.3–3.4 × 3.5–4.2 mm, glabrous; columella 3–3.1 mm. |
Seeds | light gray to light brown, narrowly ovoid to ovoid, 4-angled in cross section, 1–1.2 × 0.6–0.7 mm, with 3–5 prominent transverse ridges that often interrupt abaxial keel. |
white or brown, ovoid, 2.3–2.5 × 1.5 mm, angular, with 5 longitudinal ridges, shallowly and irregularly pitted; caruncle absent. |
Cyathia | solitary at distal nodes of primary stems or at nodes of short congested axillary branchlets; peduncle 0.2–0.5 mm. |
usually in terminal dichasia, sometimes pleiochasia; peduncle 10–50(–70) mm, glabrous. |
Euphorbia abramsiana |
Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting summer–fall. | Flowering and fruiting early spring–early summer. |
Habitat | Desert scrub and desert grasslands. | Pine and pine-oak savannas, pine-oak sand hills, turkey oak scrub, open sand habitats. |
Elevation | -40–1400 m. (-100–4600 ft.) | 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NM; TX; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora)
|
CT; DC; DE; GA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; VA
|
Discussion | The vegetative stems of Euphorbia ipecacuanhae are often quite short in proportion to the dichasial or pleiochasial branches, thus superficially plants often appear to have mostly opposite leaves. However, careful examination of the base of the plant will reveal alternate leaves. The leaves are extremely variable in both shape and coloration, and the variation can be pronounced within a population or even on a single plant. M. J. Huft (1979) did not recognize infraspecific taxa within E. ipecacuanhae, and his treatment is followed here. This species is found on the Atlantic coastal plain. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 259. | FNA vol. 12, p. 247. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Chamaesyce abramsiana | E. arundelana, Tithymalopsis ipecacuanhae |
Name authority | L. C. Wheeler: Bull. S. Calif. Acad. Sci. 33: 109. (1934) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 455. (1753) |
Web links |