Euphorbia missurica |
Euphorbia fendleri |
|
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Missouri spurge, prairie sandmat, prairie spurge |
Fendler's sandmat |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, with taproot. | Herbs, perennial, with woody, thickened taproot. |
Stems | erect or ascending, 10–60(–100) cm, glabrous, sometimes ± glaucous. |
usually prostrate, decumbent, or ascending, very rarely erect, often densely clustered from top of woody crown, 5–12 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | opposite; stipules usually distinct, occasionally connate basally on one or both sides of stem, linear to triangular-subulate, usually deeply and irregularly fringed or lobed, rarely entire, 0.7–1.5 mm, glabrous; petiole 1–3 mm, glabrous; blade linear to narrowly oblong or narrowly lanceolate-oblong, (4–)8–30 × 3–7 mm, base symmetric or subsymmetric (usually narrower leaves), or slightly asymmetric and angled or short-tapered (wider leaves), margins entire, occasionally ± revolute, apex rounded to truncate, occasionally emarginate or mucronulate, abaxial surface pale green, adaxial surface light to bright green, both surfaces glabrous; venation obscure. |
usually opposite, rarely whorled; stipules distinct, narrowly linear, 0.5–1 mm, glabrous; petiole 0.5–1 mm, glabrous; blade usually orbiculate to ovate, rarely almost lanceolate, 3–8 × 2.5–7 mm, base slightly asymmetric, slightly cordate to rounded or obtuse, margins entire, apex rounded to obtuse, surfaces glabrous; obscurely 3–5-veined from base, only midvein conspicuous. |
Involucre | broadly campanulate, 1.2–1.8 × 1.7–1.9 mm, glabrous; glands 4, yellowish green, broadly oblong to nearly circular, cupped or folded, 0.3–0.6 × 0.3–0.7 mm; appendages white or ± pinkish tinged, ovate to oblong-ovate, 0.4–2.5 × 1.1–1.7 mm, distal margin entire or slightly crenate or emarginate at tip. |
campanulate to turbinate or broadly cupulate, 1.1–1.7 × 1.2–1.8 mm, glabrous; glands 4, yellow-green to reddish, elliptic to oblong, 0.2–0.5 × 0.4–0.9 mm; appendages absent or white, rarely pink, often unequal, lunate to flabellate or sometimes forming crenate margin along gland, (0–)0.1–0.6 × (0–)0.5–1.5 mm, distal margin entire or toothed. |
Staminate flowers | 24–60. |
25–35. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.5–1.4 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.3–0.4 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
Capsules | broadly ovoid-globose, 1.9–2.5 × 2–2.5(–3) mm, glabrous; columella 1.8–2.1 mm. |
depressed-globose, 2–2.4 × 2.2–2.5 mm, glabrous; columella 1.7–2.1 mm. |
Seeds | mottled whitish to brown, ovoid to broadly ovoid-triangular, bluntly 3-angled in cross section, 1.5–2 × 1.1–1.4 mm, smooth or slightly wrinkled. |
white, ovoid-pyramidal, prominently 4-angled in cross section, 1.7–2 × 1–1.2 mm, smooth to slightly wrinkled. |
Cyathia | solitary or in small, cymose clusters these occasionally subtended by reduced, bractlike leaves at distal nodes or on congested, axillary branches; peduncle 1–5(–11) mm. |
solitary at distal nodes; peduncle 0.7–1.2 mm. |
2n | = 28. |
|
Euphorbia missurica |
Euphorbia fendleri |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late spring–late summer. | Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. |
Habitat | Glades, ledges, bluff tops (usually calcareous), dry upland forest margins, sandy or disturbed areas. | Mountain slopes, desert scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands, hills, canyons, grasslands, washes, roadsides, dry crevices in limestone, often in gravel and sand. |
Elevation | 50–1500 m. (200–4900 ft.) | 500–2600 m. (1600–8500 ft.) |
Distribution |
AR; CO; IA; KS; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY
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AZ; CA; CO; KS; NE; NM; NV; OK; SD; TX; UT; WY; Mexico (Coahuila)
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Discussion | Euphorbia missurica is similar to the western E. parryi but has a more upright growth habit and more conspicuous involucral gland appendages. Native occurrences have been documented from Minnesota (last collected in Ottertail County in 1936), but it appears to have been extirpated from that state due to habitat loss to agriculture. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Euphorbia fendleri is similar to E. chaetocalyx and may sometimes be confused with that species. Its prostrate to decumbent or ascending stems and small, ovate to orbiculate leaves distinguish it from E. chaetocalyx. Some authors have used the presence or absence and shape of the involucral gland appendages to help separate E. fendleri from E. chaetocalyx, but those characters appear highly variable and of little taxonomic utility; somewhat intermediate individuals occur in western Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 278. | FNA vol. 12, p. 267. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Chamaesyce missurica, E. missurica var. intermedia, E. petaloidea var. intermedia | Chamaesyce fendleri |
Name authority | Rafinesque: Atlantic J. 1: 146. (1832) | Torrey & A. Gray: in War Department [U.S.], Pacif. Railr. Rep. 2(4): 175. (1857) |
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