Euphorbia florida |
Euphorbia carunculata |
|
---|---|---|
Chiricahua Mountain sandmat |
sand-dune sandmat or spurge |
|
Habit | Herbs, annual, with slender taproot. | Herbs, annual, with taproot. |
Stems | erect, 15–60 cm, usually glabrous, rarely puberulent. |
prostrate, spreading and lanky or occasionally mat-forming, ± succulent, 70–150 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | opposite; stipules distinct, divided into 3–4 subulate-filiform divisions, 0.4–1.6 mm, usually glabrous, rarely puberulent; petiole 0.5–2.5 mm, glabrous; blade usually linear, rarely to narrowly elliptic, 10–40(–60) × 0.5–2.5 mm, base symmetric, attenuate, margins serrulate, often revolute, apex acute, surfaces usually glabrous, rarely puberulent; obscurely pinnately veined. |
opposite; stipules usually distinct, occasionally connate basally (primarily at distal nodes), usually divided into 2–5 subulate to subulate-filiform segments, occasionally forming narrow deltate segments (primarily at distal nodes), 0.8–1.8 mm, glabrous; petiole 3.1–6.3 mm, glabrous; blade ovate to elliptic-oblong, 5–26 × 4–12 mm, base subsymmetric to symmetric, rounded to cuneate, margins entire, apex usually mucronate, rarely acute or obtuse, surfaces glabrous; pinnately veined. |
Involucre | obconic, 1.7–2.4 × 1.5–2.1 mm, glabrous; glands 4, greenish yellow to slightly pink, circular to oblong, 0.4–0.5 × 0.4–0.6 mm; appendages white to pink, obovoid, circular, flabellate, or oblong, 0.8–2.9 × 1–2.8 mm, distal margin entire. |
campanulate, 1.1–1.8 × 1.5–2.5 mm, glabrous; glands 4, yellowish, sessile or short stipitate, circular to oblong, 0.5–0.7 × 0.5–0.8 mm; appendages white to yellowish, ovate to oblong, occasionally rudimentary, (0–)0.8–1.2 × 0.8–1.5 mm, distal margin entire. |
Staminate flowers | 25–35. |
15–25. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.8–1.4 mm, 2-fid entire length. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.7–1 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
Capsules | oblate, 2.2–2.5 × 2.7–3.1 mm, glabrous; columella 1.8–2.1 mm. |
ovoid, 4.7–5.5(–6) × 3.6–5.1 mm, glabrous; columella 4.3–5.1 mm. |
Seeds | light gray to light brown, ovoid, slightly 4-angled in cross section, 1.6–2 × 1.3–1.7 mm, with 2 or 3 well-developed transverse ridges. |
grayish white to reddish brown mottled, bottle-shaped, strongly dorsiventrally compressed and weakly 3-angled in cross section, (2.8–)4.1–5.2 × 1.2–2(–3.4) mm, smooth; carunclelike structure linear, 0.4–0.5 × 0.1–0.2 mm. |
Cyathia | solitary at nodes or in small, cymose clusters at branch tips; peduncle 1.2–8.1 mm. |
solitary at distal nodes; peduncle 1.4–3.6 mm. |
Euphorbia florida |
Euphorbia carunculata |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting summer–late fall. | Flowering and fruiting summer–fall. |
Habitat | Sandy flats, gravelly washes, rocky hillsides, talus slopes, desert scrub, desert grasslands, mesquite woodlands, rarely oak woodlands. | Sand dunes. |
Elevation | 600–1300 m. (2000–4300 ft.) | 400–1300 m. (1300–4300 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; Mexico (Sinaloa, Sonora)
|
KS; NM; OK; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua) |
Discussion | Euphorbia florida is known in the flora area from Coconino County south to the Mexican border (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Euphorbia carunculata has a highly localized and scattered distribution. The species is restricted to sand dunes and known from only a handful of localities throughout its relatively wide range. The seeds are unique in being bottle-shaped and strongly laterally compressed, and unlike other members of sect. Anisophyllum, there is a minute, linear, carunclelike protuberance at the hilum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 267. | FNA vol. 12, p. 262. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Chamaesyce florida | Chamaesyce carunculata |
Name authority | Engelmann: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 189. (1859) | Waterfall: Rhodora 50: 63. (1948) |
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