Euphorbia florida |
Euphorbia mesembrianthemifolia |
|
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Chiricahua Mountain sandmat |
coastal beach sandmat |
|
Habit | Herbs, annual, with slender taproot. | Subshrubs or shrubs, perennial, with thickened and often woody rootstock. |
Stems | erect, 15–60 cm, usually glabrous, rarely puberulent. |
erect to ascending, or nearly decumbent in shifting sand, 25–60 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 connate, forming conspicuous, ligulate or deltate scale, short cleft or fringed, 1–1.8 mm, glabrous; petiole 0.5–1 mm, glabrous; blade ovate to elliptic often folded along midrib, 5–12 × 3–8 mm, ± fleshy, base slightly asymmetric, truncate to cordate, partially obscuring stem, margins entire, apex usually obtuse, rarely acute, surfaces yellowish to dark green, glabrous glaucous; obscurely 3–5-veined at base, pinnate distally, only midvein conspicuous. |
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, 1–1.6 × 0.7–1.2 mm, glabrous; glands 4, brown, usually elliptic, occasionally almost round, 0.2–0.4 × 0.5–0.7 mm, fleshy; appendages white, oblong, rarely rudimentary, 0.2–0.4 × 0.5–0.9 mm, distal margin entire or undulate. |
Staminate flowers | 25–35. |
12–20. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.8–1.4 mm, 2-fid entire length. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.3–0.4 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
Capsules | oblate, 2.2–2.5 × 2.7–3.1 mm, glabrous; columella 1.8–2.1 mm. |
subglobose subtended by calyxlike structure, 1.5–2 × 2.2–2.8 mm, glabrous; columella 1–1.5 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. |
ashen, broadly ovoid, angled in cross section, faces plump, convex, 1.2–1.3 × 0.9–1.2 mm, obscurely pitted. |
Cyathia | solitary at nodes or in small, cymose clusters at branch tips; peduncle 1.2–8.1 mm. |
solitary at distal nodes; peduncle 0.5–1 mm. |
Euphorbia florida |
Euphorbia mesembrianthemifolia |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting summer–late fall. | Flowering and fruiting year-round. |
Habitat | Sandy flats, gravelly washes, rocky hillsides, talus slopes, desert scrub, desert grasslands, mesquite woodlands, rarely oak woodlands. | Sandy and rocky shores, associated beach scrub. |
Elevation | 600–1300 m. (2000–4300 ft.) | 0–10 m. (0–0 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; Mexico (Sinaloa, Sonora)
|
FL; Mexico; West Indies; Bermuda; South America (Colombia, Venezuela) |
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 mesembrianthemifolia is found in the flora area along the sandy and rocky shores of southern Florida from Pinellas and Volusia counties southward. It is one of the few members of subg. Chamaesyce in the flora area that is a shrub or subshrub. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 267. | FNA vol. 12, p. 277. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Chamaesyce florida | Chamaesyce buxifolia, C. mesembrianthemifolia, E. buxifolia |
Name authority | Engelmann: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 189. (1859) | Jacquin: Enum. Syst. Pl., 22. (1760) |
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