Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
Euphorbia misera |
|
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American ipecac, Carolina ipecac, ipecac spurge |
cliff spurge |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, with deep, stout rootstock. | Shrubs, soft wooded, with woody 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. |
erect to ascending, often gnarled and scraggly, branched, with conspicuous knobby short shoots, 70–150 cm, puberulent-tomentose, bark grayish red to light gray. |
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. |
alternate, well spaced on long shoots or fasciculate on short shoots; stipules 0.6–1.1 mm; petiole 4–12(–19) mm, slender, puberulent to shortly pilose; blade oblong, ovate, orbiculate, elliptic, or obovate, 6–24 × 5–21 mm, base rounded to cuneate, margins entire, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces puberulent-tomentose; venation conspicuous. |
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, 1.4–3.8 × 2.1–4.4 mm, puberulent-tomentose; glands 5, yellow to reddish, oblong to reniform, 0.7–1.3 × 1.1–2.6 mm; appendages green-yellow to yellowish or whitish, oblong to transversely oblong, 0.6–1.9 × 1.3–3.8 mm, crenulate to erose. |
Staminate flowers | 10–20. |
40–50. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.4–0.8 mm, 2-fid at apex. |
ovary glabrous or puberulent; styles 1.6–2.7 mm, 2-fid at apex. |
Capsules | globose, 2.3–3.4 × 3.5–4.2 mm, glabrous; columella 3–3.1 mm. |
oblate, 4.6–5.1 × 6.1–6.7 mm, usually glabrous or glabrescent, occasionally puberulent; columella 2.8–3.6 mm. |
Seeds | white or brown, ovoid, 2.3–2.5 × 1.5 mm, angular, with 5 longitudinal ridges, shallowly and irregularly pitted; caruncle absent. |
grayish, subglobose to ovoid, rounded in cross section, 2.7–3.3 × 2.5–2.8 mm, foveolate; caruncle absent. |
Cyathia | usually in terminal dichasia, sometimes pleiochasia; peduncle 10–50(–70) mm, glabrous. |
usually solitary on short shoots, peduncle 1.8–10.5 mm, puberulent-tomentose. |
Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
Euphorbia misera |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting early spring–early summer. | Flowering and fruiting year-round (but most prolific after winter rains). |
Habitat | Pine and pine-oak savannas, pine-oak sand hills, turkey oak scrub, open sand habitats. | Rocky soils, sometimes in crevices of vertical cliff faces, coastal scrub, maritime desert scrub, arid desert scrub. |
Elevation | 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.) | 0–400 m. (0–1300 ft.) |
Distribution |
CT; DC; DE; GA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; VA
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CA; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, 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 misera is relatively infrequent within the flora area, known primarily from coastal southern California and the Channel Islands (although a relictual inland population occurs in the Little San Bernardino Mountains). The species has been considered worthy of conservation, but appears to be under little threat, especially in Mexico where it is frequent and often locally abundant. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 247. | FNA vol. 12, p. 249. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | E. arundelana, Tithymalopsis ipecacuanhae | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 455. (1753) | Bentham: Bot. Voy. Sulphur, 51. (1844) |
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