Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
Euphorbia peplidion |
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American ipecac, Carolina ipecac, ipecac spurge |
low spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, with deep, stout rootstock. | Herbs, annual, with taproot. |
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, unbranched or branched, 5–20 cm, glabrous. |
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. |
petiole 0–0.2 mm; blade linear-oblanceolate to cuneate-spatulate, 5–20 × 1–4 mm, base attenuate, margins entire, apex rounded to obtuse, surfaces glabrous; venation inconspicuously pinnate, midvein prominent. |
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. |
broadly campanulate-turbinate, 0.8–1 × 0.6–0.9 mm, glabrous; glands 4, elliptic, 0.2–0.3 × 0.5–0.6 mm; horns divergent, 0.4–0.5 mm. |
Staminate flowers | 10–20. |
5–10. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.4–0.8 mm, 2-fid at apex. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.5–0.7 mm, 2-fid. |
Capsules | globose, 2.3–3.4 × 3.5–4.2 mm, glabrous; columella 3–3.1 mm. |
depressed-globose, 1.8–2.3 × 2.6–3 mm, 3-lobed; cocci slightly flattened, without wings, smooth, glabrous; columella 1.3–1.5 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 brown, oblong, 1.3–1.6 × 0.9–1.1 mm, abaxial faces irregularly large-pitted, adaxial faces longitudinally sulcate; caruncle flat, umbonate, 2-lobed, 0.4 × 0.7 mm. |
Cyathia | usually in terminal dichasia, sometimes pleiochasia; peduncle 10–50(–70) mm, glabrous. |
peduncle 0.3–0.5 mm. |
Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 3(–5), 1–3 times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts linear, lanceolate, or spatulate, similar in size to distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, rhomboid-lanceolate to ovate, falcate, base rounded to obtuse, margins entire or slightly erose, apex acute; axillary cymose branches 0–3. |
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Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
Euphorbia peplidion |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting early spring–early summer. | Flowering and fruiting late winter–spring. |
Habitat | Pine and pine-oak savannas, pine-oak sand hills, turkey oak scrub, open sand habitats. | Dry, sandy areas, open areas with poor soils, roadsides, stream banks. |
Elevation | 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.) | 100–300 m. (300–1000 ft.) |
Distribution |
CT; DC; DE; GA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; VA
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TX |
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 peplidion is native to central and south-central Texas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 247. | FNA vol. 12, p. 306. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | E. arundelana, Tithymalopsis ipecacuanhae | Tithymalus peplidion |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 455. (1753) | Engelmann: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 191. (1859) |
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