Euphorbia curtisii |
Euphorbia graminea |
|
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Curtis' spurge, Sandhills spurge |
grassleaf spurge |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, with spreading rootstock. | Herbs, usually annual, rarely perennial, with slender, rarely tuberous, taproot. |
Stems | erect or ascending, branched, solitary or few, previous year's dead stems not persistent, 20–40 cm, usually glabrous, rarely strigose to sericeous at nodes. |
erect or ascending, branched, 30–80(–110) cm, strigillose or glabrescent, sharply angled. |
Leaves | alternate; stipules to 0.1 mm; petiole to (0–)1–2 mm, glabrous or strigose to sericeous; blade usually linear, occasionally elliptic, rarely ovate, proximal often greatly reduced and often scalelike, 10–30 × 1.5–6 mm, base cuneate, margins entire, occasionally sparsely ciliate, apex rounded or broadly acute, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely strigose to sericeous, adaxial surface glabrous; venation obscure, only midvein conspicuous. |
usually alternate, sometimes some opposite; stipules usually 0.2–0.5 mm, rarely rudimentary; petiole 0.4–5.9 mm, strigillose; blade ovate, elliptic, linear-elliptic, or oblong, 10–83 × 3–39 mm, base attenuate, rounded, or cuneate, margins entire, apex acute or obtuse, surfaces strigillose; venation occasionally obscure on narrow leaves, midvein conspicuous. |
Involucre | campanulate, 1–1.2 × 1.3–1.5(–1.7) mm, glabrous or strigose to sericeous on distal 1/2; glands 5, green, reniform, 0.3 × 0.6 mm; appendages white, semicircular, 0.3–0.4 × 0.6–0.8 mm, entire. |
campanulate or obconic, 1–1.8 × 0.8–1.7 mm, glabrous or strigillose toward rim; glands (1–)2–4, yellow to greenish, elliptic or oblong, 0.1–0.3 × 0.2–0.4 mm; appendages white to tinged purple, ovate and often hoodlike or forming narrow rim around distal margin of gland, 0.3–1.6 × 0.4–0.9 mm, entire. |
Staminate flowers | 20–25. |
30–40. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous or sparsely strigose to sericeous; styles 0.6–1.1 mm, 2-fid at apex to 1/2 length. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.7–1 mm, 2-fid from 1/2 to nearly entire length. |
Capsules | globose, 2.5–3.2 × 4.3–5.1 mm, glabrous or sparsely strigose to sericeous; columella 2.4–3.1 mm. |
ovoid-oblate, 2.5–3 × 3–3.5 mm, glabrous; columella 1.6–1.9 mm. |
Seeds | usually gray to black, occasionally brown, ovoid-globose, 2.2 × 1.8 mm, smooth; caruncle absent. |
gray, brown, or nearly black, ovoid, circular or weakly angled in cross section, 1.5–1.7 × 1.3–1.5 mm, coarsely tuberculate with longitudinal rows of shallow pits; caruncle absent or punctiform, 0.1–0.2 mm. |
Cyathia | in terminal pleiochasia (fertile axillary branches occasionally present); peduncle 6.5–17 mm, filiform, glabrous. |
in usually terminal, rarely axillary, dichasia, distal dichasial bracts often white; peduncle 0.4–4.5 mm (to 15 mm at first node of inflorescence), glabrous. |
Euphorbia curtisii |
Euphorbia graminea |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting early spring–summer. | Flowering and fruiting year-round. |
Habitat | Xeric to dry oak or oak-pine scrub of sand hills, pine-oak woodlands, pine-oak savannas. | Disturbed, weedy, or urban areas. |
Elevation | 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.) | 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) |
Distribution |
FL; GA; NC; SC
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AR; CA; FL; LA; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America [Introduced in North America; introduced also in West Indies, Asia, Pacific Islands]
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Discussion | Euphorbia curtisii is found in the Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Euphorbia graminea occurs natively from northern South America to northern Mexico. The species is a variable and taxonomically complex entity whose boundaries are not well defined and are in need of further study. Euphorbia graminea is often weedy and has recently become established in warmer areas of the southern United States, where it will likely become more common in the future. In recent years, a cultivar of E. graminea has found considerable horticultural success and is marketed under the trade name "Diamond Frost." (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 245. | FNA vol. 12, p. 246. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | E. eriogonoides, Tithymalopsis curtisii, T. eriogonoides | |
Name authority | Engelmann ex Chapman: Fl. South. U.S., 401. (1860) | Jacquin: Select. Stirp. Amer. Hist., 151. (1763) |
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