Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
Euphorbia melanadenia |
|
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American ipecac, Carolina ipecac, ipecac spurge |
red-gland spurge, squaw sandmat |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, with deep, stout rootstock. | Herbs, perennial, with moderately to strongly thickened rootstock. |
Stems | decumbent or slightly ascending, branched, often densely clumped, previous year's dead stems not persistent, 17–27 cm, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely villous. |
ascending to erect, 5–20 cm, sericeous to appressed-villous. |
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 (lower side) and connate (upper side), linear, 0.5–1 mm, densely pilose; petiole 0.8–1.5 mm, tomentose; blade ovate, 1.2–5 × 0.8–2.9 mm, base asymmetric, hemicordate, margins entire, apex rounded to acute, surfaces tomentose; venation inconspicuous. |
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. |
campanulate, 0.6–1.1 × 0.7–1 mm, tomentose; glands 4, deep red to purple, elliptic, 0.3–0.4 × 0.4–0.7 mm; appendages white or becoming pink with age, oblong to flabellate, 0.4–0.7(–1) × 0.7–1.2 mm, distal margin entire or erose. |
Staminate flowers | 10–20. |
45–80. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.4–0.8 mm, 2-fid at apex. |
ovary tomentose, styles 0.5–0.8 mm, 2-fid nearly entire length. |
Capsules | globose, 2.3–3.4 × 3.5–4.2 mm, glabrous; columella 3–3.1 mm. |
ovoid, 1.4–1.8 × 1.4–1.7 mm, tomentose; columella 1.2–1.5 mm. |
Seeds | white or brown, ovoid, 2.3–2.5 × 1.5 mm, angular, with 5 longitudinal ridges, shallowly and irregularly pitted; caruncle absent. |
gray to tan, oblong, 4-angled in cross section, 1–1.2 × 0.4–0.6 mm, smooth to wrinkled or alveolate. |
Cyathia | usually in terminal dichasia, sometimes pleiochasia; peduncle 10–50(–70) mm, glabrous. |
solitary at distal nodes; peduncle (0.6–)1.4–1.9 mm. |
Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
Euphorbia melanadenia |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting early spring–early summer. | Flowering and fruiting year-round. |
Habitat | Pine and pine-oak savannas, pine-oak sand hills, turkey oak scrub, open sand habitats. | Rocky slopes, river washes, dry to wet soils. |
Elevation | 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.) | 400–1400 m. (1300–4600 ft.) |
Distribution |
CT; DC; DE; GA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; VA
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AZ; CA; Mexico (Baja California, Sonora)
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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.) |
Euphorbia melanadenia is similar in appearance to E. cinerascens, but E. melanadenia has conspicuous involucral gland appendages whereas E. cinerascens has inconspicuous appendages or lacks them entirely. Euphorbia melanadenia occurs in Arizona and southern California, whereas E. cinerascens is found only in southern and western Texas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 247. | FNA vol. 12, p. 276. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | E. arundelana, Tithymalopsis ipecacuanhae | Chamaesyce melanadenia |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 455. (1753) | Torrey: in War Department [U.S.], Pacif. Railr. Rep. 4(5): 135. (1857) |
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