Euphorbia floridana |
Euphorbia helleri |
|
---|---|---|
greater Florida spurge |
Heller's spurge |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, with slender to moderately thickened rootstock. | Herbs, annual, with taproot. |
Stems | erect, 20–65 cm. |
ascending, branched proximally, 15–30 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | petiole absent; blade linear to linear-elliptic or linear-lanceolate, 30–105 × 2–4(–7) mm, chartaceous, base attenuate, rounded, or nearly truncate, apex acute; only midvein evident. |
petiole usually 1–3 mm, absent distally; blade spatulate, 6–15 × 3–5 mm, base broadly attenuate, margins entire, apex usually obtuse to rounded, sometimes retuse, surfaces glabrous; venation pinnate, midvein prominent. |
Involucre | campanulate or obconic, 1.6–3.3 × 1.8–3.1 mm, lobes ovate, 0.5–0.7 mm, ciliate, exceeded by glands; glands yellow-green, oblong to trapezoidal, 0.5–0.8 × 0.8–1.2 mm, distal margins deeply erose. |
campanulate, 0.9–1.2 × 0.7–1 mm, glabrous; glands 4, elliptic, 0.1–0.2 × 0.3–0.4 mm; horns slightly divergent, 0.1–0.2 mm. |
Staminate flowers | 20. |
8–10. |
Pistillate flowers | gynophore exserted 2.9–5.3 mm, calyxlike lobes triangular, 0.3–0.7 mm; styles connate 1/3–1/4 length, 1.1–1.7 mm. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.4–0.5 mm, 2-fid. |
Capsules | oblate-ovoid, 4.6–5.5 × 8.9–9 mm, strongly 3-lobed; columella 3.4–4.2 mm. |
depressed-globose, 2.1–2.5 × 2.5–3 mm, 3-lobed; cocci flattened, smooth, glabrous; columella 1.2–1.7 mm. |
Seeds | brown to blackish, depressed-globose, circular in cross section, 2.8–3 × 3.2–3.6 mm, smooth, base flattened, with punctiform depressions, apex flattened. |
white to light gray, ovoid, 1.4–1.6 × 1–1.2 mm, smooth; caruncle 2-lobed, thin, 0.4 × 0.7 mm. |
Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 3–5, 3–16 cm, 3–5(–7) times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts linear-lanceolate or narrowly ovate, 19–55 × 4–12 mm, margins entire, apex acute or acuminate; dichasial bracts usually ovate, lanceolate, or oblong, rarely deltate, 8–21 × 4–14 mm, margins entire, apex acute, acuminate, or rounded with mucronate tip; axillary cymose branches 1–3(–6). |
arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 3, each 1–5 times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts oblong, similar in size to distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, orbiculate-ovate to nearly reniform, subpandurate, base broadly cuneate to truncate, margins entire, apex obtuse, mucronate; axillary cymose branches 0–5. |
Cyathia | peduncle (except for that of 1st cyathium at base of pleiochasia) 2–5 mm (not exceeding dichasial bracts). |
peduncle 0.2–0.4 mm. |
Euphorbia floridana |
Euphorbia helleri |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. | Flowering and fruiting late winter–spring. |
Habitat | Xeric pine-oak sandhills, pine scrub, sandy soils. | Forests, stream banks, roadsides, shaded areas with sandy, calcareous soils. |
Elevation | 20–80 m. (100–300 ft.) | 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA
|
LA; TX; Mexico (Nuevo León) |
Discussion | The smooth, white to light gray seeds of Euphorbia helleri easily distinguish it from other annual members of subg. Esula in North America. Collections of E. helleri have been made near Brownsville, Texas, and thus it is possible that the species occurs in northern Tamaulipas, Mexico. The Louisiana record (Webster Parish) likely represents introduced plants. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 314. | FNA vol. 12, p. 303. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Nummulariopsis | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Galarhoeus floridanus | Tithymalus helleri |
Name authority | Chapman: Fl. South. U.S., 401. (1860) | Millspaugh: Bot. Gaz. 26: 268, fig. [p. 270]. (1898) |
Web links |