Euphorbia floridana |
Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
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greater Florida spurge |
American ipecac, Carolina ipecac, ipecac spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, with slender to moderately thickened rootstock. | Herbs, perennial, with deep, stout rootstock. |
Stems | erect, 20–65 cm. |
decumbent or slightly ascending, branched, often densely clumped, previous year's dead stems not persistent, 17–27 cm, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely villous. |
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. |
alternate; stipules 0.1–0.2 mm; petiole (0–)1–2 mm, glabrous; blade usually linear, obovate, or oblanceolate to orbiculate, rarely filiform, proximal greatly reduced, scalelike, 15–70 × 1.5–13 mm gradually smaller proximally, base cuneate, margins entire, apex rounded, broadly acute, or emarginate, surfaces glabrous; venation occasionally obscure on smaller leaves, midvein conspicuous. |
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. |
yellow or yellow-green, hemispheric, 1–1.2 × 2–2.4 mm, glabrous; glands 5, yellow or yellow-green, obovate or elliptic, 0.7–0.8 × 1–1.2 mm; appendages white or green, often forming narrow rim around distal margin of gland, 0–0.2 mm, entire. |
Staminate flowers | 20. |
10–20. |
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 0.4–0.8 mm, 2-fid at apex. |
Capsules | oblate-ovoid, 4.6–5.5 × 8.9–9 mm, strongly 3-lobed; columella 3.4–4.2 mm. |
globose, 2.3–3.4 × 3.5–4.2 mm, glabrous; columella 3–3.1 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 or brown, ovoid, 2.3–2.5 × 1.5 mm, angular, with 5 longitudinal ridges, shallowly and irregularly pitted; caruncle absent. |
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). |
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Cyathia | peduncle (except for that of 1st cyathium at base of pleiochasia) 2–5 mm (not exceeding dichasial bracts). |
usually in terminal dichasia, sometimes pleiochasia; peduncle 10–50(–70) mm, glabrous. |
Euphorbia floridana |
Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. | Flowering and fruiting early spring–early summer. |
Habitat | Xeric pine-oak sandhills, pine scrub, sandy soils. | Pine and pine-oak savannas, pine-oak sand hills, turkey oak scrub, open sand habitats. |
Elevation | 20–80 m. (100–300 ft.) | 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA
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CT; DC; DE; GA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; VA
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Discussion | The vegetative stems of Euphorbia ipecacuanhae are often quite short in proportion to the dichasial or pleiochasial branches, thus superficially plants often appear to have mostly opposite leaves. However, careful examination of the base of the plant will reveal alternate leaves. The leaves are extremely variable in both shape and coloration, and the variation can be pronounced within a population or even on a single plant. M. J. Huft (1979) did not recognize infraspecific taxa within E. ipecacuanhae, and his treatment is followed here. This species is found on the Atlantic coastal plain. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 314. | FNA vol. 12, p. 247. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Nummulariopsis | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Galarhoeus floridanus | E. arundelana, Tithymalopsis ipecacuanhae |
Name authority | Chapman: Fl. South. U.S., 401. (1860) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 455. (1753) |
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