Euphorbia chamaesula |
Euphorbia cyparissias |
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mountain spurge |
cypress spurge, euphorbe cypress, graveyard spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, with thick rootstock. | Herbs, perennial, with slender, spreading rootstock. |
Stems | erect, branched, 40–90 cm, glabrous. |
erect or ascending, unbranched or branched, often with short axillary vegetative shoots with very narrow leaves, 10–50 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | petiole 0.5–1 mm; blade elliptic to oblong, 8–20(–40) × 3–6 mm, base truncate, rounded, or attenuate, margins entire, apex obtuse or acute, sometimes slightly mucronate, surfaces glabrous; venation inconspicuous, only midvein prominent. |
petiole absent; blade linear to linear-ovate or linear-oblanceolate, 5–30 × 0.5–3 mm, base rounded to cuneate, margins entire, apex rounded to acute, surfaces glabrous; venation inconspicuous, only midvein prominent. |
Involucre | turbinate or campanulate, 1.5–2.5 × 1.1–1.9 mm, glabrous; glands 4, crescent-shaped to semicircular, 0.5–0.8 × 1–1.8 mm; horns usually convergent, 0.2–0.8 mm. |
campanulate to slightly urceolate, 1.5–2 × 0.9–1.1 mm, glabrous; glands 4, crescent-shaped; 0.4–0.6 × 0.7–1.3 mm; horns convergent, 0.1–0.5 mm. |
Staminate flowers | 8–12. |
15–25. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 1–1.8 mm, 2-fid. |
ovary glabrous; styles 1–1.2 mm, 2-fid. |
Capsules | depressed-ovoid, 4.3–5 × 5–6 mm, 3-lobed; cocci rounded, smooth, glabrous; columella 3.5–4 mm. |
subglobose, 2.5–3 × 3–4 mm, slightly lobed; cocci rounded, granulate, glabrous; columella 1.9–2.1 mm. |
Seeds | gray to dark brown, ovoid-oblong, truncate at both ends, 2.6–3.4 × 2–2.6 mm, shallowly pitted to almost smooth; caruncle conic, 1 × 0.8 mm. |
blackish, ovoid-oblong, 1.8–2.5 × 1.4–1.7 mm, smooth; caruncle nipple-shaped or subreniform, 0.2–0.4 × 0.7–1.1 mm. |
Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 3–5(–6), each 3–4 times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts ovate-lanceolate to slightly subpandurate, similar in size or wider than distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, lanceolate to broadly ovate, base usually truncate to rounded or subcordate, sometimes attenuate, margins entire or slightly crenulate, apex usually obtuse to acute, occasionally acuminate; axillary cymose branches 2–8. |
arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 6–25, each 1–2-times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts similar in shape to distal leaves except shorter and wider; dichasial bracts distinct, widely ovate, rhombic or reniform, base obtuse to truncate, margins entire, apex acute or obtuse, sometimes mucronulate; axillary cymose branches 0–15. |
Cyathia | peduncle 1–3 mm. |
peduncle 0–0.5 mm. |
2n | = 26. |
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Euphorbia chamaesula |
Euphorbia cyparissias |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting spring–summer. | Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. |
Habitat | Clearings in ponderosa pine forests, montane roadsides, dry streambeds, creek banks, sandy and gravelly soils. | Fields, roadsides, waste places. |
Elevation | 1700–2700 m. (5600–8900 ft.) | 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; NM; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
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AR; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; Europe [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | Euphorbia chamaesula is easily distinguished from other perennial members of subg. Esula in western North America by its larger capsules and the vegetative shoots (without cyathia) that arise from the distal nodes of the stem proximal to the pleiochasia. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 300. | FNA vol. 12, p. 301. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Tithymalus chamaesula | Galarhoeus cyparissias, Tithymalus cyparissias |
Name authority | Boissier: Cent. Euphorb., 38. (1860) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 461. (1753) |
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