Euphorbia hexagona |
Euphorbia dentata |
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six-angle spurge |
green poinsettia, tooth poinsettia, tooth spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, with taproot. | Herbs, annual, with taproot. |
Stems | erect, unbranched or branched, 30–70(–100) cm, sparsely hispid, occasionally densely so at distal nodes. |
erect or ascending, 15–60 cm, both pilose and inconspicuously strigillose; branches usually ± straight, occasionally proximal branches arcuate. |
Leaves | opposite; stipules (0–)0.1 mm; petiole 1–4 mm, pilose; blade linear-filiform, linear, or elliptic, 21–40 × 0.9–7.5 mm, base attenuate, margins entire, apex acute, abaxial surface sparsely hispidulous to strigillose, adaxial surface glabrous; venation obscure, only midvein conspicuous. |
usually opposite, occasionally alternate at distal nodes; petiole 5–20 mm, pilose; blade 30–70 × 4–35 mm, narrowly lanceolate to suborbiculate, usually broadest below middle, base usually acute to subobtuse, rarely subtruncate, margins coarsely crenate-dentate or doubly crenate, strigillose, flat to slightly revolute, apex broadly acute, abaxial surface long pilose with weak, filiform hairs, adaxial surface sparsely pilose to glabrate; venation pinnate, midvein prominent. |
Involucre | campanulate, 1–1.5 × (1–)1.5–1.8 mm, hispid; glands 5, green to deep red, elliptic to reniform, 0.5 × 0.8–1 mm; appendages white to green, tinged red, deltate to ovate, 0.7–1.7 × (0.9–)1.3–1.5 mm, entire. |
campanulate, 3.8 × 1.8 mm, glabrous; involucral lobes divided into several linear, smooth lobes; glands (1–)2, green, sessile and broadly attached, 0.7–0.9 × 0.9–1.2 mm, opening oblong, glabrous; appendages absent. |
Staminate flowers | 15–30(–40). |
8–10. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.7–1.1 mm, 2-fid nearly entire length. |
ovary glabrous, styles 1.2 mm, 2-fid 1/2 to nearly entire length. |
Capsules | subglobose to broadly ovoid, 4.7–6.5 × 4.9–6.5(–7.1) mm, glabrous; columella 3.5–4.5 mm. |
depressed-globose, 2.5–2.8 × 3.5–4 mm, 3-lobed, glabrous; columella 1.8–2.1 mm. |
Seeds | dark brown or dark gray, ovoid, 3.4 × 2.7 mm, rugose, whitish glaucous; caruncle absent. |
pale gray to black, ovoid, rounded in cross section, 2.1–2.7 × 1.7–2.1 mm, evenly minute-tuberculate; caruncle 0.4–0.6 mm. |
Cyathia | solitary in leaf axils or in terminal cymes or dichasia; peduncle 1–2.1 mm, strigillose. |
peduncle 0.7–1 mm. |
Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches usually 3, occasionally reduced to congested cyme, 1–2-branched; pleiochasial bracts 2–4, often whorled, wholly green or paler green, white, or mauve at base, similar in shape and size to distal leaves or slightly narrower; dichasial bracts similar in shape to distal leaves but smaller (often highly reduced). |
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2n | = 28. |
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Euphorbia hexagona |
Euphorbia dentata |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late summer–fall. | Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. |
Habitat | Sand prairies, other sandy soil habitats, stream banks, sand bars, damp places. | Bottomland forests, stream and river banks, bluffs, prairies, glades, fallow fields, roadsides, railroad cinders, open disturbed areas. |
Elevation | 200–1300 m. (700–4300 ft.) | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) |
Distribution |
AR; CO; IA; IL; KS; MN; MO; MT; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WI; WY
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AL; AR; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NE; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV; ON; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas)
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Discussion | Euphorbia hexagona is native to the central United States and is most common from southern South Dakota to Oklahoma and northern Texas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Euphorbia dentata is native from northern Mexico and the south central United States north and east through the Ohio River Valley. Scattered occurrences in the southeastern United States likely represent adventive populations. Reports of E. dentata as a noxious weed (from the United States and the Old World) should most likely be attributed to introductions of E. davidii. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 247. | FNA vol. 12, p. 321. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Poinsettia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Poinsettia dentata | |
Name authority | Nuttall ex Sprengel: Syst. Veg. 3: 791. (1826) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 211. (1803) |
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