The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

American ipecac, Carolina ipecac, ipecac spurge

rocklands spurge, Southern Florida 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.

prostrate to ascending, occasionally mat-forming, terete to slightly flattened, 5–18 cm, glabrous on lower surface, strigillose to sericeous on upper surface.

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, subulate, better developed on lower side of stem, 0.4–1.3 mm, glabrous or pilose;

petiole 0.3–0.5 mm, puberulent, sericeous, or strigillose;

blade oblong to ovate, 4–7 × 2–4 mm, base asymmetric, hemicordate, larger side sometimes amplexicaulous, margins entire or serrulate, apex obtuse, surfaces puberulent, sericeous, or strigillose; 3-veined from base, lateral veins 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, 1–1.3 × 1–1.1 mm, canescent;

glands 4, pinkish, oblong or reniform, 0.2 × 0.4–0.6 mm;

appendages white to pink, lunate, unequal, those of proximal glands oblique, 0.6–1 × 1.4–1.6 mm, those of distal glands symmetric, 0.3 × 0.8–0.9 mm, irregularly undulate to incised.

Staminate flowers

10–20.

15.

Pistillate flowers

ovary glabrous;

styles 0.4–0.8 mm, 2-fid at apex.

ovary puberulent, sericeous or strigillose;

styles 0.5–1 mm, 2-fid at apex.

Capsules

globose, 2.3–3.4 × 3.5–4.2 mm, glabrous;

columella 3–3.1 mm.

oblate, well exserted from involucre at maturity, 1–1.3 × 1.3–1.8 mm, puberulent, sericeous or strigillose;

columella 1 mm.

Seeds

white or brown, ovoid, 2.3–2.5 × 1.5 mm, angular, with 5 longitudinal ridges, shallowly and irregularly pitted;

caruncle absent.

whitish to gray, ovoid, 4-angled in cross section, 0.7–0.8 × 0.5–0.6 mm, with 3–4 transverse sulci alternating with low transverse ridges.

Cyathia

usually in terminal dichasia, sometimes pleiochasia;

peduncle 10–50(–70) mm, glabrous.

solitary at distal nodes or at nodes of short, congested, axillary shoots;

peduncle to 0.5 mm.

Euphorbia ipecacuanhae

Euphorbia pergamena

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. Crevices of limestone outcrops in pinelands and pine-palm woods.
Elevation 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.) 0–10 m. (0–0 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; DC; DE; GA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; West Indies (Cuba, Hispaniola)
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 pergamena is a Florida-listed threatened species known within the flora area from only Miami-Dade and Monroe counties in extreme southern Florida. The species is often included as a subspecies of E. adenoptera (for example, D. G. Burch 1965), but here A. Herndon (1993b) is followed and it is treated as a distinct species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 12, p. 247. FNA vol. 12, p. 282.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum
Sibling taxa
E. aaron-rossii, E. abramsiana, E. acuta, E. agraria, E. albomarginata, E. alta, E. angusta, E. antisyphilitica, E. arizonica, E. astyla, E. austrotexana, E. bicolor, E. bifurcata, E. bilobata, E. blodgettii, E. bombensis, E. brachycera, E. capitellata, E. carunculata, E. chaetocalyx, E. chamaesula, E. cinerascens, E. commutata, E. conferta, E. cordifolia, E. corollata, E. crenulata, E. cumulicola, E. cuphosperma, E. curtisii, E. cyathophora, E. cyparissias, E. davidii, E. deltoidea, E. dendroides, E. dentata, E. discoidalis, E. eriantha, E. exigua, E. exserta, E. exstipulata, E. falcata, E. fendleri, E. florida, E. floridana, E. garberi, E. georgiana, E. geyeri, E. glyptosperma, E. golondrina, E. gracillima, E. graminea, E. helioscopia, E. helleri, E. heterophylla, E. hexagona, E. hirta, E. hooveri, E. humistrata, E. hypericifolia, E. hyssopifolia, E. indivisa, E. innocua, E. inundata, E. jaegeri, E. jejuna, E. laredana, E. lasiocarpa, E. lata, E. lathyris, E. longicruris, E. lurida, E. macropus, E. maculata, E. marginata, E. meganaesos, E. melanadenia, E. mendezii, E. mercurialina, E. mesembrianthemifolia, E. micromera, E. misera, E. missurica, E. myrsinites, E. nephradenia, E. nutans, E. oblongata, E. ocellata, E. ophthalmica, E. ouachitana, E. parishii, E. parryi, E. pediculifera, E. peplidion, E. peplus, E. perennans, E. pergamena, E. pinetorum, E. platyphyllos, E. platysperma, E. polycarpa, E. polygonifolia, E. polyphylla, E. porteriana, E. prostrata, E. pubentissima, E. purpurea, E. radians, E. rayturneri, E. revoluta, E. roemeriana, E. rosescens, E. schizoloba, E. serpens, E. serpillifolia, E. serrata, E. serrula, E. setiloba, E. simulans, E. spathulata, E. stictospora, E. strictior, E. telephioides, E. terracina, E. tetrapora, E. texana, E. theriaca, E. thymifolia, E. tithymaloides, E. trachysperma, E. trichotoma, E. vallis-mortae, E. velleriflora, E. vermiculata, E. villifera, E. virgata, E. wrightii, E. yaquiana
E. aaron-rossii, E. abramsiana, E. acuta, E. agraria, E. albomarginata, E. alta, E. angusta, E. antisyphilitica, E. arizonica, E. astyla, E. austrotexana, E. bicolor, E. bifurcata, E. bilobata, E. blodgettii, E. bombensis, E. brachycera, E. capitellata, E. carunculata, E. chaetocalyx, E. chamaesula, E. cinerascens, E. commutata, E. conferta, E. cordifolia, E. corollata, E. crenulata, E. cumulicola, E. cuphosperma, E. curtisii, E. cyathophora, E. cyparissias, E. davidii, E. deltoidea, E. dendroides, E. dentata, E. discoidalis, E. eriantha, E. exigua, E. exserta, E. exstipulata, E. falcata, E. fendleri, E. florida, E. floridana, E. garberi, E. georgiana, E. geyeri, E. glyptosperma, E. golondrina, E. gracillima, E. graminea, E. helioscopia, E. helleri, E. heterophylla, E. hexagona, E. hirta, E. hooveri, E. humistrata, E. hypericifolia, E. hyssopifolia, E. indivisa, E. innocua, E. inundata, E. ipecacuanhae, E. jaegeri, E. jejuna, E. laredana, E. lasiocarpa, E. lata, E. lathyris, E. longicruris, E. lurida, E. macropus, E. maculata, E. marginata, E. meganaesos, E. melanadenia, E. mendezii, E. mercurialina, E. mesembrianthemifolia, E. micromera, E. misera, E. missurica, E. myrsinites, E. nephradenia, E. nutans, E. oblongata, E. ocellata, E. ophthalmica, E. ouachitana, E. parishii, E. parryi, E. pediculifera, E. peplidion, E. peplus, E. perennans, E. pinetorum, E. platyphyllos, E. platysperma, E. polycarpa, E. polygonifolia, E. polyphylla, E. porteriana, E. prostrata, E. pubentissima, E. purpurea, E. radians, E. rayturneri, E. revoluta, E. roemeriana, E. rosescens, E. schizoloba, E. serpens, E. serpillifolia, E. serrata, E. serrula, E. setiloba, E. simulans, E. spathulata, E. stictospora, E. strictior, E. telephioides, E. terracina, E. tetrapora, E. texana, E. theriaca, E. thymifolia, E. tithymaloides, E. trachysperma, E. trichotoma, E. vallis-mortae, E. velleriflora, E. vermiculata, E. villifera, E. virgata, E. wrightii, E. yaquiana
Synonyms E. arundelana, Tithymalopsis ipecacuanhae Chamaesyce adenoptera subsp. pergamena, C. pergamena, E. adenoptera subsp. pergamena
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 455. (1753) Small: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 25: 615. (1898)
Web links