Euphorbia oblongata |
Euphorbia falcata |
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Balkan spurge, egg-leaf spurge, oblong spurge |
sickle spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, with woody taproot. | Herbs, annual, with taproot. |
Stems | erect, unbranched or densely branching, 80 cm, often densely villous (especially young stems and pleiochasial branches). |
erect, unbranched or branched, 5–20 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | petiole absent; blade oblong to narrowly obovate or lanceolate, 15–70 × 6–25 mm, base rounded or truncate, margins finely serrulate, apex obtuse, mucronulate, surfaces glabrous; venation inconspicuously pinnate, midvein prominent. |
petiole absent; blade obovate, linear-oblong, or spatulate, 2–20 × 2–10 mm, base cuneate or attenuate, margins entire, apex acute, obtuse, emarginate, or mucronate, surfaces glabrous; venation usually inconspicuous, sometimes 3-nerved from base, midvein prominent. |
Involucre | cupulate to slightly turbinate, 1.5–2.5 × 1.3–1.5 mm, glabrous; glands 2–3, elliptic, 0.6–0.8 × 0.8–1.2 mm; horns absent. |
cupulate, 0.5–1.2 × 0.6–1.3 mm, glabrous; glands 4, elliptic to orbiculate, 0.2–0.3 × 0.3–0.8 mm; horns usually absent, occasionally divergent, 0.5–1.2 mm. |
Staminate flowers | 15–40. |
6–10. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 1.5–2 mm, 2-fid. |
ovary pilose only at base, styles 0.9–1.1 mm, 2-fid. |
Capsules | globose, 3–4.5 × 3–4.5 mm, slightly 3-lobed; cocci rounded, verrucose-tuberculate, glabrous; columella 2.5–3.3 mm. |
subovoid, 2–3 × 1.8–3 mm, slightly lobed; cocci rounded, smooth, glabrous or slightly pilose along abaxial region; columella 1.1–1.8 mm. |
Seeds | brown, ovoid, 2.4–2.6 × 1.3–2 mm, smooth, caruncle reniform, 0.2–0.3 × 0.8–0.9 mm. |
grayish, whitish, or light brownish, ovoid, 1.2–1.8 × 0.7–1.1 mm, transversally sulcate; caruncle subglobose to subconic, 0.2–0.5 × 0.2–0.5 mm. |
Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 3–5, each 2–3 times 2–4-branched; pleiochasial bracts ovate, similar in size to distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, ovate to suborbiculate, base truncate or rounded, margins entire or finely denticulate, apex obtuse, sometimes mucronulate; axillary cymose branches 0–4. |
arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 2–5, each 2–6 times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts similar in shape to but usually shorter and wider than distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, widely ovate, rhombic, or suborbiculate, imbricate, base cordate, truncate or cuneate, margins finely denticulate, apex acute or obtuse, strongly mucronate; axillary cymose branches 0–10. |
Cyathia | peduncle 1–5 mm. |
peduncle 0–2 mm. |
Euphorbia oblongata |
Euphorbia falcata |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. | Flowering and fruiting spring–summer. |
Habitat | Waste areas, disturbed sites, roadsides, fields, pastures. | Waste places, roadsides. |
Elevation | 30–900 m. (100–3000 ft.) | 0–1600 m. (0–5200 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; s Europe [Introduced in North America]
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KY; MD; OH; PA; TN; VA; WV; s Europe; c Europe; w Asia; c Asia; s Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America (Chile)] |
Discussion | Euphorbia oblongata is listed as a noxious weed by the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 305. | FNA vol. 12, p. 302. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Tithymalus oblongatus | Tithymalus falcatus |
Name authority | Grisebach: Spic. Fl. Rumel. 1: 136. (1843) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 456. (1753) |
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