Euphorbia bicolor |
Euphorbia davidii |
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snow-on-the-prairie |
David's poinsettia, David's spurge, tooth poinsettia, tooth spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, with taproot. | Herbs, annual, with taproot. |
Stems | erect, unbranched or branched, 40–100 cm, pilose. |
erect or ascending, 20–70 cm, both coarsely and sparsely hirsute and closely strigillose; branches usually ± straight, occasionally proximal branches arcuate. |
Leaves | alternate; stipules 0.3–0.4 mm; petiole 0.3–1 mm, pilose; blade narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, 37–54 × 7–17 mm, base cuneate to slightly rounded, margins entire, apex aristate or acute, surfaces pilose; venation obscure, only midvein conspicuous. |
usually opposite, occasionally alternate at distal nodes; petiole 7–25 mm, strigose; blade usually narrowly to broadly elliptic, occasionally lance-elliptic, 10–100 × 5–35 mm, base cuneate to attenuate, margins coarsely crenate-dentate, strigose, revolute to nearly flat, apex broadly acute to acuminate, or obtuse, abaxial surface strigose with stiff, strongly tapered hairs, adaxial surface sparsely strigose-hirsute; venation pinnate, midvein prominent. |
Involucre | campanulate, 2.7–3.5 × 2.2–3 mm, densely pilose; glands 4–5, green to pale greenish yellow, reniform, 0.6–0.7 × 1.4–1.6 mm; appendages white, obdeltate to orbiculate, 1.4–2.5 × 1.7–3 mm, dentate to erose. |
cylindric, 2.5–3 × 1.3–1.8 mm, glabrous; involucral lobes divided into 5–7 linear, papillate lobes; gland 1, yellow-green, sessile and broadly attached, 0.9 × 1.3 mm, opening oblong, glabrous; appendages absent. |
Staminate flowers | 30–70. |
5–8. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary pilose; styles 0.7–1.2 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
ovary glabrous or sparsely strigose; styles 1 mm, 2-fid 1/2 to nearly entire length. |
Capsules | depressed-ovoid, 3.5–7.5 × 6–8.7 mm, densely pilose; columella 4.5–5.5 mm. |
broadly ovoid, 2.9–3.3 × 4–4.8 mm, 3-lobed, glabrous; columella 2.2–2.7 mm. |
Seeds | tan to brown, ovoid, 4.3–4.5 × 3.7–3.9 mm, alveolate; caruncle absent. |
black to brown or pale gray, ovoid to triangular-ovoid, angular in cross section, 2.4–2.9 × 2.2–2.9 mm, low-tuberculate, tubercles irregularly arranged or in faint, transverse row; caruncle 0.9–1.1 mm. |
Cyathia | in terminal pleiochasia dichasial and pleiochasial bracts linear to narrowly oblanceolate, with conspicuous white margins; peduncle 1.2–3 mm, densely pilose. |
peduncle 0.5–1 mm. |
Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches usually 3, occasionally reduced to congested cyme, 1–2-branched; pleiochasial bracts 2–4, often whorled, green with diffuse greenish white to mauve near base, similar in shape and size to distal leaves or slightly narrower; dichasial bracts similar in shape to distal leaves but smaller, often highly reduced. |
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2n | = 56. |
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Euphorbia bicolor |
Euphorbia davidii |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting summer–fall. | Flowering and fruiting summer–fall. |
Habitat | Prairies, blackland (calcareous) prairies, pastures and clearings in former blackland prairie areas, roadside clearings. | Forests, stream and riverbanks, prairies, roadsides and open disturbed areas. |
Elevation | 100–200 m. (300–700 ft.) | 200–1500 m. (700–4900 ft.) |
Distribution |
AR; LA; OK; TX
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AR; AZ; CA; CO; FL; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MI; MN; MO; NC; NE; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WI; WV; WY; ON; QC; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora) [Introduced in South America, Eurasia (China, Russia), Australia]
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Discussion | Euphorbia bicolor is similar in appearance to E. marginata but can be distinguished by its linear to narrowly oblanceolate bracts and the presence of hairs on all parts of the plant. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Euphorbia davidii is native from the southwestern United States and northern Mexico north through the southern Great Plains; it apparently is adventive elsewhere. The species is the weediest member of the E. dentata species group (following M. H. Mayfield 1997) and has become an agricultural weed in North America, South America (for example, Argentina), and in the Old World (particularly Australia and Russia). Euphorbia davidii can be distinguished from the closely similar E. dentata by its larger capsules and seeds, often more elliptic leaves, and shorter, stiffer hairs. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 243. | FNA vol. 12, p. 320. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Poinsettia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Engelmann & A. Gray: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 5: 233. (1845) | Subils: Kurtziana 17: 125, figs. 1, 2H–J. (1984) |
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