Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
Euphorbia deltoidea |
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American ipecac, Carolina ipecac, ipecac spurge |
wedge sandmat |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, with deep, stout rootstock. | Herbs, perennial, delicate, with woody, thickened taproot, 15 mm diam.. | ||||||||||||||||
Stems | decumbent or slightly ascending, branched, often densely clumped, previous year's dead stems not persistent, 17–27 cm, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely villous. |
prostrate, ascending, or erect, often numerous and wiry, less than 0.1 mm diam., 5–20 cm, glabrous, puberulent, canescent, villous, or hirsute, shorter hairs often uncinate and longer hairs straight or irregularly twisted. |
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Leaves | 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. |
opposite; stipules distinct, triangular, sometimes lacerate or ciliate, 0.2–0.3 mm, glabrous or hairy; petiole 0.3–1 mm, glabrous or hairy; blade narrowly to broadly deltate, cordate, or reniform, 2–5(–7) × 1–4.5(–5) mm, base asymmetric, cordate to rounded, margins entire, ± revolute, apex obtuse or rounded, surfaces glabrous or hairy; only midvein conspicuous. |
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Involucre | 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. |
turbinate to campanulate, 0.8–1 × 1.1–1.3 mm, glabrous or hairy; glands 4, green to yellow-green, oblong to subcircular, 0.2–0.4 × 0.4–0.6 mm; appendages absent or white, forming narrow rim at edge of gland, rarely slightly wider than gland, (0–)0.1(–0.3) × 0.4–0.6 mm, distal margin entire. |
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Staminate flowers | 10–20. |
8–14. |
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Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.4–0.8 mm, 2-fid at apex. |
ovary glabrous or hairy, subtended by triangular pad of tissue; styles spreading, 0.3–0.4 mm, 2-fid 1/2 to nearly entire length. |
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Capsules | globose, 2.3–3.4 × 3.5–4.2 mm, glabrous; columella 3–3.1 mm. |
broadly deltoid, 1.2–1.5 × 2–2.2 mm, glabrous or hairy; columella 0.9–1.3 mm. |
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Seeds | white or brown, ovoid, 2.3–2.5 × 1.5 mm, angular, with 5 longitudinal ridges, shallowly and irregularly pitted; caruncle absent. |
reddish brown, ovoid, 4-angled in cross section, 0.8–1.2 × 0.5–0.6 mm, obscurely wrinkled. |
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Cyathia | usually in terminal dichasia, sometimes pleiochasia; peduncle 10–50(–70) mm, glabrous. |
solitary at distal nodes; peduncle 0.7–1.5 mm. |
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Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
Euphorbia deltoidea |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting early spring–early summer. | |||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Pine and pine-oak savannas, pine-oak sand hills, turkey oak scrub, open sand habitats. | |||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.) | |||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
CT; DC; DE; GA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; VA
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FL |
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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.) |
Subspecies 4 (4 in the flora). Euphorbia deltoidea comprises four narrowly endemic subspecies, all of which are endangered due to habitat loss and fragmentation. The subspecies occur in pine rockland habitat that is free of shrubby undergrowth. Periodic fires are required to keep the rockland habitat open. Subspecies serpyllum is restricted to Big Pine Key, Monroe County, whereas the other subspecies are found only in Miami-Dade County. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 247. | FNA vol. 12, p. 265. | ||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | ||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms | E. arundelana, Tithymalopsis ipecacuanhae | Chamaesyce deltoidea | ||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 455. (1753) | Engelmann ex Chapman: Fl. South. U.S. ed. 2, 647. (1883) | ||||||||||||||||
Web links |