Euphorbia nutans |
Euphorbia strictior |
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eyebane, eyebane sandmat, eyebane spurge, nodding or upright spotted spurge, nodding spurge |
panhandle spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, with taproot. | Herbs, perennial, with cylindric rootstock. |
Stems | usually ascending, occasionally erect, often arched at tips, 20–80 cm, sparsely to moderately pilose to villous or with short, incurved hairs, hairs often concentrated at nodes and distally, occasionally in 2 bands along opposite sides of stem. |
erect, branched, densely clumped, previous year’s dead stems often persistent, 30–70 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | opposite; stipules usually distinct, sometimes connate basally on one side of stem, small scales, irregularly toothed, fringed, or divided, 1–1.5 mm, sparsely to moderately villous distally; petiole 0.3–1.6 mm, moderately pilose to villous; blade oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 8–40 × 3–12 mm, base asymmetric, one side usually angled or rounded, other side ± truncate to cordate-auriculate, margins serrulate, apex angled with blunt tip, abaxial surface pale green or faintly to strongly reddish tinged, adaxial surface usually reddish-mottled or with conspicuous reddish spot, both surfaces usually sparsely to moderately pilose, especially toward base, sometimes glabrous; 3–5-veined from base, pinnate distally, veins faint. |
alternate, persisting, spreading or ascending; stipules to 0.1 mm; petiole absent; blade linear to narrowly oblanceolate, (20–)40–70 × (2–)4–5 mm, base narrowly cuneate, margins entire, apex broadly acute, surfaces glabrous; venation obscure, only midvein conspicuous on wider leaves. |
Involucre | narrowly obconic, 0.5–1 × 0.3–0.7 mm, glabrous; glands 4, usually green, sometimes reddish purple, oblong to nearly circular, 0.2–0.4 × 0.3–0.5 mm; appendages white or pinkish, ovate to broadly elliptic, 0.2–1 × 0.2–1.5 mm, distal margin entire. |
campanulate or hemispheric, 1.2–2.4 × 2.2–3.2 mm, pilose; glands 5, green, broadly elliptic, 0.7–0.8 × 1.3–1.6 mm; appendages white, forming narrow rim around distal margin of gland, 0.2 × 1.5–1.8 mm, entire or erose. |
Staminate flowers | 5–28. |
20–25. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.6–2.5 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
ovary strigillose to tomentulose; styles 0.4–0.6 mm, 2-fid at apex. |
Capsules | ovoid, 1.6–2.3 × 1.5–2.4 mm, glabrous; columella 1.4–1.6 mm. |
globose, all 3 locules fertile, 3.2–4.5 × 4–6.5 mm, sparsely strigillose; columella 2.5–3.9 mm. |
Seeds | dark brown, sometimes with thin, white coating (often more persistent along angles than faces), elliptic-ovoid to ovoid, rounded-angular in cross section, 1–1.6 × 0.5–0.8 mm, surface finely and irregularly wrinkled, sometimes faintly so, or with indistinct, shallow, rounded cross ridges. |
gray-green to gray-brown, ovoid, 3.8 × 3 mm, shallowly and obscurely pitted; caruncle absent. |
Cyathia | solitary at distal nodes or in small, cymose clusters at branch tips; peduncle 0.5–2.5 mm. |
in terminal dichasia; peduncle (2–)4–12(–18) mm proximal and mid peduncles and cyathia abscising early, sparsely to moderately strigose to sericeous. |
2n | = 12, 14, 22. |
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Euphorbia nutans |
Euphorbia strictior |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting spring–early fall. | Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. |
Habitat | Stream banks, pond edges, disturbed portions of upland prairies, mesic to dry upland forest openings, pastures, fallow fields, railroads, roadsides, gardens, disturbed areas. | Open grasslands and uplands. |
Elevation | 0–1600 m. (0–5200 ft.) | 900–1400 m. (3000–4600 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CA; CT; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; WY; ON; QC; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in Eurasia]
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NM; TX |
Discussion | Euphorbia nutans is probably native to at least central and eastern North America, but given its strongly weedy tendencies, it is difficult to know where it may be adventive in parts of the flora area. It is certainly introduced where it occurs in the Old World and probably in South America as well. D. G. Burch (1966) discussed the problems of assigning names to the four main entities in this nomenclatural complex (E. hypericifolia, E. hyssopifolia, E. lasiocarpa, and E. nutans) and determined that the oldest valid name for the relatively robust, temperate North American plants with ascending stems is E. nutans. See the treatment of 56. E. maculata for a discussion of the misapplication of that name to E. nutans. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Euphorbia strictior is confined to a small area of the Texas Panhandle and adjacent New Mexico. The species is closely related to E. aaron-rossii and E. wrightii; it can be distinguished from E. wrightii by its larger stature, shorter and less petaloid involucral gland appendages, and early abscising proximal and mid cyathia and peduncles. Euphorbia strictior also tends to develop all three seeds in the capsule, whereas E. wrightii tends to develop only two. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 278. | FNA vol. 12, p. 251. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Chamaesyce lansingii, C. nutans, E. lansingii, E. preslii | |
Name authority | Lagasca: Gen. Sp. Pl., 17. (1816) | Holzinger: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 1: 214, plate 18. (1892) |
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