Euphorbia abramsiana |
Euphorbia macropus |
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Abrams' sandmat, Abrams' spurge |
Huachuca Mountain spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, with slender taproot. | Herbs, perennial, with thick, globose to elongated tubers, 2–8 cm. |
Stems | prostrate, mat-forming, 10–35(–50) cm, shortly pilose or puberulent at least proximally, often glabrous distally. |
erect to ascending, branched, 10–45(–60) cm, glabrous, puberulent, or densely hirsute to setose, often with 2-layered indumentum of long hairs intermixed with short hairs. |
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. |
usually opposite, occasionally whorled distally, or rarely with 1–2 alternate leaves; stipules 0.1–0.2 mm; petiole 0–18 mm, hirsute, sericeous, or strigose; blade linear to ovate or almost orbiculate, 6–54 × 2–19 mm, base rounded to attenuate, margins entire, occasionally ciliate with stiff recurved hairs, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces usually hirsute, sericeous, or strigose, occasionally glabrous adaxially; venation 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. |
obconic to campanulate, 1.1–1.4 × 0.5–1.5 mm, glabrous or strigillose; glands 4–5, greenish, oblong, 0.2 × 0.4–0.5 mm; appendages usually yellowish or green, rarely dark purple, ovate, flabellate, semiorbiculate, or oblong, 0.3–0.9 × 0.4–1.1 mm, usually entire. |
Staminate flowers | 3–5. |
10–15. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.1–0.3 mm, 2-fid nearly entire length. |
ovary glabrous, sericeous, or strigillose; styles 0.4–0.6 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
Capsules | ellipsoid to ovoid, 1.3–1.5 × 1.1–1.5 mm, glabrous; columella 1–1.3 mm. |
oblate, 2.3–3 × 3.1–4.2 mm, glabrous, sericeous, or strigillose; columella 1.6–2.1 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. |
black to light brown, broadly ovoid to subglobose, rounded in cross section, 1.5–2.3 × 1.4–1.8 mm, smooth or with low rounded tubercles; caruncle absent. |
Cyathia | solitary at distal nodes of primary stems or at nodes of short congested axillary branchlets; peduncle 0.2–0.5 mm. |
in weakly-defined terminal dichasia; peduncle 1.4–5.8 mm, glabrous. |
Euphorbia abramsiana |
Euphorbia macropus |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting summer–fall. | Flowering and fruiting summer–fall. |
Habitat | Desert scrub and desert grasslands. | Stream banks and rocky slopes in pine-oak woodlands, sometimes with juniper, Douglas fir-pine forests. |
Elevation | -40–1400 m. (-100–4600 ft.) | 1500–2200m. (4900–7200ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NM; TX; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora)
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AZ; Mexico; Central America (Guatemala, Honduras) |
Discussion | Euphorbia macropus is a widespread and common Mexican species just barely entering the flora area in southeastern Arizona, where most of the collections are from the Huachuca Mountains. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 259. | FNA vol. 12, p. 248. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Chamaesyce abramsiana | Anisophyllum macropus, E. biformis, E. plummerae |
Name authority | L. C. Wheeler: Bull. S. Calif. Acad. Sci. 33: 109. (1934) | (Klotzsch & Garcke) Boissier: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 52. (1862) |
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