Euphorbia discoidalis |
Euphorbia inundata |
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summer spurge |
Florida pineland spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, with spreading rootstock. | Herbs, perennial, with thickened rootstock. | ||||
Stems | erect or ascending, unbranched, solitary or few, previous year's dead stems not persistent, 45–70 cm, usually densely puberulent to sericeous, rarely glabrous. |
erect or ascending, 15–40 cm. |
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Leaves | alternate; stipules to 0.1 mm; petiole (0–)1–2 mm (or absent), densely puberulent; blade usually linear, rarely ovate, 25–55 × 1.5–4 mm, base cuneate, margins entire, revolute, apex rounded, abaxial surface glabrous or puberulent to sericeous, adaxial surface glabrous; venation often obscure on smaller leaves, midvein conspicuous. |
petiole absent or indistinct, blade linear to linear-elliptic or lanceolate, (25–)30–60(–115) × 1.5–14(–15) mm, chartaceous, base attenuate, apex acuminate, acute, or rounded and mucronate; only midvein evident. |
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Involucre | campanulate, 1.2–1.4 × 1.2–2 mm, sparsely to densely puberulent; glands 5, green, reniform, 0.2–0.3 × 0.5–0.6 mm; appendages white, orbiculate to oblong, (0.5–)1–1.7 × 1–1.5 mm, entire. |
obconic or campanulate, 1.3–3.2 × 1.6–3.6 mm, lobes ovate, oblong, or nearly rectangular, 0.6–1 mm, laciniate-ciliate; glands red to greenish, oblong or nearly circular, 0.8–1 × 1.1–2 mm, distal margins crenulate-erose, undulate, or entire. |
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Staminate flowers | 20–25. |
20–25. |
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Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous or sparsely strigose; styles 0.5–1.1 mm, 2-fid at apex to 1/2 length. |
gynophore exserted 2.6–6.1 mm, calyxlike lobes triangular to subulate, 0.6–1.4 mm; styles connate 1/8 length, 1.3–2.2 mm. |
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Capsules | globose, 1.8–3 × 2.5–4.8 mm, glabrous or sparsely strigose; columella 2.3–2.5 mm. |
oblate-ovoid, 5.1–6.1 × 6.9–8.6 mm, 3-lobed; columella 3.9–4.7 mm. |
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Seeds | light gray, ovoid, 2 × 1.2–1.3 mm, smooth or with few, very shallow depressions; caruncle absent. |
brown to blackish, ovoid-globose, circular or faintly 3- or 4-angled in cross section, 2.9–3.4 × 2.7–3 mm, smooth, base flattened or rounded, apex rounded or with inconspicuous blunt point. |
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Cyathia | in terminal pleiochasia; peduncle 5–15 mm, filiform, glabrous or very sparsely puberulent to sericeous. |
peduncle 6–24 mm (often exceeding dichasial bracts). |
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Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 2–3, 5–18 cm, 3–8 times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts linear-lanceolate or narrowly ovate, 25–49 × 5–9 mm, margins entire, apex acute or acuminate; dichasial bracts ovate or lanceolate, 6–21 × 2–6 mm, margins entire, apex acute or acuminate; axillary cymose branches 1–5. |
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Euphorbia discoidalis |
Euphorbia inundata |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late spring–fall. | |||||
Habitat | Sand hills, pine savannas, woodland borders, open fields with sandy soils. | |||||
Elevation | 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; TX
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AL; FL; GA; MS |
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Discussion | M. J. Huft (1979) remarked that Euphorbia discoidalis is uncommon west of Alabama and referred many narrow-leaved specimens from Louisiana and Texas to E. corollata. K. R. Park (1998) included them in an expanded E. discoidalis, and that is followed here. The western populations can be distinguished from E. corollata by their shorter involucral gland appendages and revolute leaf margins. Further study of these western populations is warranted. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Euphorbia inundata has a disjunct distribution in the southeastern United States. Allopatric, narrow-leaved populations from the west-central Florida peninsula are segregated as var. garrettii (E. L. Bridges and S. L. Orzell 2002). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 245. | FNA vol. 12, p. 314. | ||||
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Nummulariopsis | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Tithymalopsis discoidalis | Galarhoeus inundatus | ||||
Name authority | Chapman: Fl. South. U.S., 401. (1860) | Torrey ex Chapman: Fl. South. U.S., 402. (1860) | ||||
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