Euphorbia ocellata |
Euphorbia meganaesos |
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Contura Creek sandmat, Contura Creek spurge, valley spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, with taproot. | Herbs, annual, with taproot. | ||||
Stems | prostrate, 10–35 cm, glabrous or pilose. |
prostrate to ascending, drooping at tips, 15–30 cm, glabrous. |
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Leaves | opposite; stipules distinct, subulate, 0.5–1.6 mm, glabrous or pilose; petiole 0.3–2 mm, glabrous or pilose; blade ovate to deltate or falcate, 2.3–13 × 1.5–6 mm, base asymmetric, usually cordate, rarely rounded, margins occasionally reddish, entire, often revolute, apex acute to obtuse, occasionally mucronate, surfaces glabrous or pilose; midvein conspicuous, lateral veins frequently visible abaxially. |
opposite; stipules distinct, divided nearly to base into linear-filiform segments, 1–2 mm, glabrous; petiole 0.5–1.3 mm, glabrous; blade narrowly oblong to oblong-obovate, often ± falcate, 5–16 × 1–4.5 mm, base subsymmetric to strongly oblique, margins sparsely spinulose-serrulate, apex rounded or broadly acute, abaxial surface pale grayish green, adaxial surface sometimes with reddish streak along midvein, both surfaces not papillate, glabrous; 3–5-veined at base. |
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Involucre | campanulate, 1–2.5 × 1.3–2.4 mm, glabrous or pilose; glands 4, yellow becoming deep red, elliptic or oblong to orbiculate, 0.4–0.6 × 0.5–0.7 mm; appendages absent or whitish, orbiculate, 0.1–0.2 × 0.3–0.5 mm, distal margin entire. |
obconic, 0.7–0.9 × 0.4–0.6 mm, glabrous; glands 4, green to yellow-green, subequal, oblong, 0.1–0.2 × 0.2–0.3 mm; appendages white to reddish tinged, lunate to oblong, 0.1–0.3 × 0.3–0.5 mm (2 ± 2 times longer than other 2), entire or coarsely toothed. |
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Staminate flowers | 30–70. |
2–5. |
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Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous or pilose; styles 0.4–0.5 mm, 2-fid at apex. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.2–0.3 mm, 2-fid at apex to nearly 1/2 length. |
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Capsules | subglobose to broadly ovoid, 1.4–2.7 × 1.9–3.1 mm, glabrous or pilose; columella 1.4–2 mm. |
ovoid, cocci not elongated nor terminating in empty portion, 1.5 × 1.7 mm, glabrous; columella 1.3 mm. |
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Seeds | whitish gray to black, ovoid to oblong, terete to bluntly subangled in cross section, 1.1–1.7 × 0.8–1.3 mm, rugose or smooth. |
reddish brown to brown, pyramidal to oblong-ovoid, weakly 4-angled in cross section, 0.9–1 × 0.7 mm, minutely beaded, with 3–4 broad, rounded, transverse ridges that do not interrupt abaxial keel. |
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Cyathia | solitary at distal nodes; peduncle 0.9–2.2 mm. |
solitary at distal nodes or on congested, axillary branches; peduncle 0.1–0.4 mm. |
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Euphorbia ocellata |
Euphorbia meganaesos |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late spring–late summer. | |||||
Habitat | Sandy beaches, edges of marshes, coastal prairies, roadsides. | |||||
Elevation | 0–10 m. (0–0 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
AZ; CA; ID; NV; UT
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LA; TX |
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Discussion | Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Euphorbia meganaesos is known only from coastal areas of southern Louisiana and adjacent Texas. This species was often considered conspecific with E. maculata in the past, but it differs from that species in being entirely glabrous. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 279. | FNA vol. 12, p. 276. | ||||
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Chamaesyce ocellata | |||||
Name authority | Durand & Hilgard: Pl. Heermann., 46. (1854) | Featherman: Rep. (Annual) Board Supervisors Louisiana State Seminary Learning Military Acad. 1870: 71, 105. (1871) | ||||
Web links |