Euphorbia curtisii |
Euphorbia hyssopifolia |
|
---|---|---|
Curtis' spurge, Sandhills spurge |
hyssopleaf sandmat |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, with spreading rootstock. | Herbs, annual, with 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 to ascending, 80 cm, sparsely to densely pilose or pilose-crinkled proximally, usually glabrous distally. |
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. |
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, 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. |
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 | 20–25. |
4–15. |
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 0.5–0.9 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
Capsules | globose, 2.5–3.2 × 4.3–5.1 mm, glabrous or sparsely strigose to sericeous; columella 2.4–3.1 mm. |
depressed-ovoid, 1.5–1.6 × 1.7–1.8 mm, glabrous; columella 1.5–2 mm. |
Seeds | usually gray to black, occasionally brown, ovoid-globose, 2.2 × 1.8 mm, smooth; caruncle absent. |
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. |
Cyathia | in terminal pleiochasia (fertile axillary branches occasionally present); peduncle 6.5–17 mm, filiform, glabrous. |
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. |
|
Euphorbia curtisii |
Euphorbia hyssopifolia |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting early spring–summer. | Flowering and fruiting late spring–early fall. |
Habitat | Xeric to dry oak or oak-pine scrub of sand hills, pine-oak woodlands, pine-oak savannas. | Disturbed areas, ditches, gardens. |
Elevation | 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.) | 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) |
Distribution |
FL; GA; NC; SC
|
AL; AZ; FL; GA; LA; MS; NM; SC; TX; UT; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in tropical Asia, Africa, Australia]
|
Discussion | Euphorbia curtisii is found in the Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 245. | FNA vol. 12, p. 272. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | E. eriogonoides, Tithymalopsis curtisii, T. eriogonoides | Chamaesyce hyssopifolia, E. jonesii, E. stenomeres |
Name authority | Engelmann ex Chapman: Fl. South. U.S., 401. (1860) | Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1048. (1759) |
Web links |