Flora of North America species comparison

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Euphorbia davidii

Euphorbia velleriflora

David's poinsettia, David's spurge, tooth poinsettia, tooth spurge

Caliche sandmat
Habit Herbs, annual, with taproot. Herbs, perennial, with strongly thickened and lignified rootstock.
Stems

erect or ascending, 20–70 cm, both coarsely and sparsely hirsute and closely strigillose;

branches usually ± straight, occasionally proximal branches arcuate.

prostrate, usually mat-forming, terete to slightly flattened and winged, to 30 cm, villous to pilose.
Leaves

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.

opposite;

stipules distinct or connate at base, 2-fid to laciniate into 2–5 linear to subulate divisions, 0.5–1(–2) mm, glabrous or villous;

petiole 0.5–2 mm, villous;

blade usually ovate to oblong, rarely suborbiculate, 5–13 × 4–8 mm, base asymmetric, hemicordate, margins serrulate, apex obtuse, surfaces villous; 3-veined from base, usually only midvein conspicuous.
Involucre

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.

turbinate, 0.9–1.4 × 0.7–1.1 mm, villous;

glands 4, pink, oblong to reniform, 0.1–0.2 × 0.3–0.4 mm;

appendages white to pink, flabellate, ovate, or oblong, 0.3–0.5 × 0.4–0.7 mm, distal margin entire, crenulate, or erose, often puberulent-ciliate.
Staminate flowers

5–8.

8–12.
Pistillate flowers

ovary glabrous or sparsely strigose;

styles 1 mm, 2-fid 1/2 to nearly entire length.

ovary villous;

styles 0.2–0.4(–0.5) mm, 2-fid 1/2 length.
Capsules

broadly ovoid, 2.9–3.3 × 4–4.8 mm, 3-lobed, glabrous;

columella 2.2–2.7 mm.

broadly ovoid, 1.5–1.9 × 1.3–1.7 mm, villous (uniformly so, but most pronounced toward base and along keels);

columella 1.2–1.4 mm.
Seeds

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.

white to gray or pink, narrowly pyramidal-ovoid, 4-angled in cross section, 1.1–1.3 × 0.4–0.6 mm, rugulose with shallow depressions separated by inconspicuous transverse ridges.
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.

Cyathia

peduncle 0.5–1 mm.

solitary at distal nodes or at nodes of leafy, congested, axillary branches;

peduncle 1–1.5(–2.5) mm.
2n

= 56.

Euphorbia davidii

Euphorbia velleriflora
Phenology Flowering and fruiting summer–fall. Flowering and fruiting summer.
Habitat Forests, stream and riverbanks, prairies, roadsides and open disturbed areas. Disturbed habitats, particularly roadsides, grasslands, live oak-thorn scrub.
Elevation 200–1500 m. (700–4900 ft.) 50–80 m. (200–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
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]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; Mexico; Central America (Guatemala) [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Euphorbia velleriflora is native and widespread from northern Mexico to Guatemala. The species is apparently a recent introduction in southern Texas (W. R. Carr and M. H. Mayfield 1993), as the first records are from the 1990s. It is also expected in southern Arizona due to the presence of collections made a few kilometers south of the border in the Mexican state of Sonora. Euphorbia velleriflora is very similar to E. stictospora, and the two are sometimes confused. The two can be readily distinguished on the basis of their styles: unbranched in E. stictospora and 2-fid in E. velleriflora. Also, the involucral gland appendages of E. velleriflora are ciliate with short hairs, whereas those of E. stictospora are glabrous.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 320. FNA vol. 12, p. 292.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Poinsettia Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum
Sibling taxa
E. aaron-rossii, E. abramsiana, E. acuta, E. agraria, E. albomarginata, E. alta, E. angusta, E. antisyphilitica, E. arizonica, E. astyla, E. austrotexana, E. bicolor, E. bifurcata, E. bilobata, E. blodgettii, E. bombensis, E. brachycera, E. capitellata, E. carunculata, E. chaetocalyx, E. chamaesula, E. cinerascens, E. commutata, E. conferta, E. cordifolia, E. corollata, E. crenulata, E. cumulicola, E. cuphosperma, E. curtisii, E. cyathophora, E. cyparissias, E. deltoidea, E. dendroides, E. dentata, E. discoidalis, E. eriantha, E. exigua, E. exserta, E. exstipulata, E. falcata, E. fendleri, E. florida, E. floridana, E. garberi, E. georgiana, E. geyeri, E. glyptosperma, E. golondrina, E. gracillima, E. graminea, E. helioscopia, E. helleri, E. heterophylla, E. hexagona, E. hirta, E. hooveri, E. humistrata, E. hypericifolia, E. hyssopifolia, E. indivisa, E. innocua, E. inundata, E. ipecacuanhae, E. jaegeri, E. jejuna, E. laredana, E. lasiocarpa, E. lata, E. lathyris, E. longicruris, E. lurida, E. macropus, E. maculata, E. marginata, E. meganaesos, E. melanadenia, E. mendezii, E. mercurialina, E. mesembrianthemifolia, E. micromera, E. misera, E. missurica, E. myrsinites, E. nephradenia, E. nutans, E. oblongata, E. ocellata, E. ophthalmica, E. ouachitana, E. parishii, E. parryi, E. pediculifera, E. peplidion, E. peplus, E. perennans, E. pergamena, E. pinetorum, E. platyphyllos, E. platysperma, E. polycarpa, E. polygonifolia, E. polyphylla, E. porteriana, E. prostrata, E. pubentissima, E. purpurea, E. radians, E. rayturneri, E. revoluta, E. roemeriana, E. rosescens, E. schizoloba, E. serpens, E. serpillifolia, E. serrata, E. serrula, E. setiloba, E. simulans, E. spathulata, E. stictospora, E. strictior, E. telephioides, E. terracina, E. tetrapora, E. texana, E. theriaca, E. thymifolia, E. tithymaloides, E. trachysperma, E. trichotoma, E. vallis-mortae, E. velleriflora, E. vermiculata, E. villifera, E. virgata, E. wrightii, E. yaquiana
E. aaron-rossii, E. abramsiana, E. acuta, E. agraria, E. albomarginata, E. alta, E. angusta, E. antisyphilitica, E. arizonica, E. astyla, E. austrotexana, E. bicolor, E. bifurcata, E. bilobata, E. blodgettii, E. bombensis, E. brachycera, E. capitellata, E. carunculata, E. chaetocalyx, E. chamaesula, E. cinerascens, E. commutata, E. conferta, E. cordifolia, E. corollata, E. crenulata, E. cumulicola, E. cuphosperma, E. curtisii, E. cyathophora, E. cyparissias, E. davidii, E. deltoidea, E. dendroides, E. dentata, E. discoidalis, E. eriantha, E. exigua, E. exserta, E. exstipulata, E. falcata, E. fendleri, E. florida, E. floridana, E. garberi, E. georgiana, E. geyeri, E. glyptosperma, E. golondrina, E. gracillima, E. graminea, E. helioscopia, E. helleri, E. heterophylla, E. hexagona, E. hirta, E. hooveri, E. humistrata, E. hypericifolia, E. hyssopifolia, E. indivisa, E. innocua, E. inundata, E. ipecacuanhae, E. jaegeri, E. jejuna, E. laredana, E. lasiocarpa, E. lata, E. lathyris, E. longicruris, E. lurida, E. macropus, E. maculata, E. marginata, E. meganaesos, E. melanadenia, E. mendezii, E. mercurialina, E. mesembrianthemifolia, E. micromera, E. misera, E. missurica, E. myrsinites, E. nephradenia, E. nutans, E. oblongata, E. ocellata, E. ophthalmica, E. ouachitana, E. parishii, E. parryi, E. pediculifera, E. peplidion, E. peplus, E. perennans, E. pergamena, E. pinetorum, E. platyphyllos, E. platysperma, E. polycarpa, E. polygonifolia, E. polyphylla, E. porteriana, E. prostrata, E. pubentissima, E. purpurea, E. radians, E. rayturneri, E. revoluta, E. roemeriana, E. rosescens, E. schizoloba, E. serpens, E. serpillifolia, E. serrata, E. serrula, E. setiloba, E. simulans, E. spathulata, E. stictospora, E. strictior, E. telephioides, E. terracina, E. tetrapora, E. texana, E. theriaca, E. thymifolia, E. tithymaloides, E. trachysperma, E. trichotoma, E. vallis-mortae, E. vermiculata, E. villifera, E. virgata, E. wrightii, E. yaquiana
Synonyms Anisophyllum velleriflorum, Chamaesyce velleriflora
Name authority Subils: Kurtziana 17: 125, figs. 1, 2H–J. (1984) (Klotzsch & Garcke) Boissier: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 40. (1862)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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