Euphorbia lathyris |
Euphorbia pubentissima |
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caper spurge, euphorbe épurge, gopher plant, gopher spurge, mole plant |
false flowering spurge, southeastern flowering spurge |
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| Habit | Herbs, annual or biennial, with taproot. | Herbs, perennial, with spreading rootstock. |
| Stems | erect, unbranched or branched, 200 cm, glabrous, glaucous. |
erect, usually unbranched, occasionally few branched distally, solitary or few, previous year's dead stems not persistent, 30–65 cm, usually glabrous, rarely villous. |
| Leaves | opposite, decussate; petiole absent; blade linear to oblong-lanceolate, 30–120 × 3–25 mm, base acute, rounded, cordate or clasping, margins entire, apex acute or subobtuse, sometimes mucronate, surfaces glabrous, abaxial ± glaucous; venation pinnate, midvein prominent. |
alternate; stipules 1 mm; petiole (0–)1–2(–10) mm, glabrous or densely villous; blade lanceolate, lance-ovate, elliptic, or obovate, 40–68 × 6–18 mm, often reflexed, base cuneate to rounded, margins entire, apex usually rounded, sometimes broadly acute, abaxial surface glabrous or villous, adaxial surface usually glabrous, rarely sparsely villous; venation occasionally obscure on small leaves, midvein conspicuous. |
| Involucre | campanulate, 1.2–2.3 × 1.4–2.5 mm, glabrous; glands 4, elliptic, 0.3–0.6 × 1–1.3 mm; horns divergent, thick, tips rounded, dilated, 0.5–1.4 mm. |
campanulate or hemispheric, 1.3–1.7 × 1.8–2.2 mm, glabrous or villous; glands 5 (7–10 on central cyathium), green, reniform or broadly elliptic, 0.3–0.5 × 0.5–0.8 mm; appendages white, orbiculate or narrowly flabellate, 1–2.2 × 1.5 mm, entire. |
| Staminate flowers | 25–30. |
20–25. |
| Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.7–2.2 mm, 2-fid. |
ovary glabrous or sparsely villous; styles 0.6–1.1 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
| Capsules | depressed-globose, 9–12 × 12–16 mm, deeply 3-lobed, tardily dehiscent and appearing indehiscent, mesocarp spongy; cocci rounded, smooth, glabrous; columella 4–5.2 mm. |
globose, 2–2.4 × 3.3–4.8 mm, glabrous or sparsely villous; columella 1.8–2.1 mm. |
| Seeds | brownish or blackish, oblong, 4.5–6 × 3–4.2 mm, rugose, irregularly reticulate; caruncle substipitate, hat-shaped, 1.6–2 × 1.2–1.5 mm. |
light gray, ovoid, 2.2–2.4 × 1.6–1.8 mm, with shallow depressions; caruncle absent. |
| Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 2–4, each 1–2 times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts cordate-lanceolate, shorter and wider than distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, ovate-oblong to lanceolate, base subcordate, margins entire, apex acute; axillary cymose branches 0–10. |
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| Cyathia | peduncle 0–0.5 mm. |
in terminal pleiochasia; peduncle 1–5 mm (or 15–40 mm on early flowering individuals), usually glabrous, occasionally sparsely villous. |
Euphorbia lathyris |
Euphorbia pubentissima |
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| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting winter–fall. | Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. |
| Habitat | Roadsides, cultivated fields, stream banks, waste places. | Open fields, cliffs, woods, floodplains. |
| Elevation | 0–1800 m. [0–5900 ft.] | 0–900 m. [0–3000 ft.] |
| Distribution |
AZ; CA; CT; ID; IL; MA; MD; MT; NC; OH; OR; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WA; WV; BC; ON; QC; Europe; Asia; Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, South America, Australia]
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AL; FL; GA; LA; MD; MS; NC; SC; TN; VA; WV
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| Discussion | Euphorbia lathyris is most likely native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region, but it is widely cultivated and often locally escaped in temperate regions worldwide, as in the flora area. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The taxonomic history of Euphorbia pubentissima is complex. The species has been included within a very broadly defined E. corollata in the past. Therefore, its geographic distribution appears significantly more wide-ranging in some treatments. The framework established by M. J. Huft (1979) and later by K. R. Park (1998) is followed here. Euphorbia pubentissima is recognized as a variable species restricted to the southeastern United States. The species can be distinguished from E. corollata by its shorter involucral gland appendages and smaller seeds. Euphorbia paniculata Elliott, which sometimes is applied to E. pubentissima, is an illegitimate name (a later homonym of Euphorbia paniculata Desfontaines). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
| Parent taxa | ||
| Sibling taxa | ||
| Synonyms | Galarhoeus lathyris, Tithymalus lathyris | E. apocynifolia, E. corollata var. paniculata, E. corollata var. zinniiflora, E. zinniiflora, Tithymalopsis apocynifolia, T. paniculata, T. zinniiflora |
| Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 457. (1753) — (as lathyrus) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 212. (1803) |
| Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 304. | FNA vol. 12, p. 250. |
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