Euphorbia agraria |
Euphorbia hyssopifolia |
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urban spurge |
hyssopleaf sandmat |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, with slender, spreading rootstock. | Herbs, annual, with taproot. |
Stems | erect or ascending, unbranched or branched, 30–90 cm, glabrous. |
erect to ascending, 80 cm, sparsely to densely pilose or pilose-crinkled proximally, usually glabrous distally. |
Leaves | petiole absent; blade oblong-elliptic, 20–65 × 9–20 mm, base truncate to auriculate, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces glabrous; venation conspicuously pinnate, midvein prominent. |
opposite; stipules usually connate, irregularly lacerate, 0.5–1 mm, usually glabrous, occasionally with few marginal hairs; petiole 1–2 mm, glabrous; blade lanceolate to oblong or falcate, 8–35 × 7–15 mm, base asymmetric, rounded, margins serrulate, apex broadly acute, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely pilose toward base, adaxial surface glabrous; palmately veined at base, pinnate distally. |
Involucre | campanulate, 2.2–3 × 1.8–2 mm, glabrous; glands 4, crescent-shaped; 0.6–1 × 1–2 mm; horns slightly divergent to convergent, 0.1–0.2 mm. |
obconic, 0.9–1.1 × 0.7–0.9 mm, glabrous; glands 4(–5) (5th gland without appendage), yellow-green to maroon, elliptic to circular, 0.1–0.2 × 0.1–0.3 mm; appendages spreading, usually white or turning reddish with age, short reniform or semilunate, 0.1–0.3 × 0.2–0.6 mm, distal margin entire or slightly undulate to crenate. |
Staminate flowers | 15–20. |
4–15. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 1.2–2 mm, 2-fid. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.5–0.9 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
Capsules | globose, 2–2.8 × 2.2–2.7 mm, 3-lobed; cocci rounded, smooth except finely granulate toward abaxial line, glabrous; columella 2.1–2.7 mm. |
depressed-ovoid, 1.5–1.6 × 1.7–1.8 mm, glabrous; columella 1.5–2 mm. |
Seeds | gray or whitish, ovoid-oblong, 2–2.1 × 1.2–1.3 mm, smooth; caruncle ± rounded and flattened, 0.8 × 0.6 mm. |
brown to grayish white, ovoid, slightly 4-angled in cross section, abaxial faces convex, adaxial faces slightly concave to slightly convex, 1–1.4 × 0.7–1.1 mm, with 2–3 prominent transverse ridges that do not interrupt adaxial keel, or coarsely and inconspicuously pitted-reticulate. |
Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 8–15, 1–2 times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts similar in shape but shorter and narrower than distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, rhombic to reniform, base obtuse, margins entire, apex obtuse, mucronate; axillary cymose branches 12–23. |
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Cyathia | peduncle 0–2 mm. |
solitary or in small, cymose clusters occasionally with bractlike leaves at distal nodes or on congested, axillary branches; peduncle 0.5–2.5 mm. |
2n | = 12, 14. |
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Euphorbia agraria |
Euphorbia hyssopifolia |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting spring–summer. | Flowering and fruiting late spring–early fall. |
Habitat | Grasslands, roadside banks, pastures. | Disturbed areas, ditches, gardens. |
Elevation | 200–1600 m. (700–5200 ft.) | 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) |
Distribution |
KS; MT; NE; NY; PA; WA; WY; AB; SK; Europe [Introduced in North America]
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AL; AZ; FL; GA; LA; MS; NM; SC; TX; UT; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in tropical Asia, Africa, Australia]
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Discussion | Euphorbia hyssopifolia is native to the New World tropics and is probably also native to parts of the southern United States. However, at least some of the records from the flora area appear to be from adventive plants. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 298. | FNA vol. 12, p. 272. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Tithymalus agrarius | Chamaesyce hyssopifolia, E. jonesii, E. stenomeres |
Name authority | M. Bieberstein: Fl. Taur.-Caucas. 1: 375. (1808) | Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1048. (1759) |
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