Euphorbia setiloba |
Euphorbia mesembrianthemifolia |
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fringe spurge, shaggy spurge, Yuma sandmat |
coastal beach sandmat |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, with slender taproot. | Subshrubs or shrubs, perennial, with thickened and often woody rootstock. |
Stems | prostrate, mat-forming, 5–50 cm, villous with glistening glandular hairs. |
erect to ascending, or nearly decumbent in shifting sand, 25–60 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | opposite; stipules distinct, filiform, rudimentary to 0.2 mm, glabrous or sparsely villous with glistening glandular hairs; petiole 0.5–1.5 mm, villous; blade oblong, ovate, or elliptic, 3–7 × 2–4 mm, base asymmetric, rounded, margins entire, apex obtuse, surfaces villous; weakly 3-veined from base, commonly only midvein conspicuous. |
opposite; stipules connate, forming conspicuous, ligulate or deltate scale, short cleft or fringed, 1–1.8 mm, glabrous; petiole 0.5–1 mm, glabrous; blade ovate to elliptic often folded along midrib, 5–12 × 3–8 mm, ± fleshy, base slightly asymmetric, truncate to cordate, partially obscuring stem, margins entire, apex usually obtuse, rarely acute, surfaces yellowish to dark green, glabrous glaucous; obscurely 3–5-veined at base, pinnate distally, only midvein conspicuous. |
Involucre | campanulate or urceolate, 0.7–1 × 0.5–0.8 mm, villous; glands 4, red to pink, oblong to slightly reniform, 0.1–0.2 × 0.2–0.3 mm; appendages white to pink, deeply incised into 3–6 triangular to subulate, attenuate, acute segments, 0.3–0.6 × 0.6–1 mm, segments entire. |
campanulate, 1–1.6 × 0.7–1.2 mm, glabrous; glands 4, brown, usually elliptic, occasionally almost round, 0.2–0.4 × 0.5–0.7 mm, fleshy; appendages white, oblong, rarely rudimentary, 0.2–0.4 × 0.5–0.9 mm, distal margin entire or undulate. |
Staminate flowers | 3–7. |
12–20. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary villous; styles 0.3–0.4 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.3–0.4 mm, 2-fid 1/2 length. |
Capsules | subglobose to ovoid, 1–1.2 mm diam., villous; columella 0.9–1.1 mm. |
subglobose subtended by calyxlike structure, 1.5–2 × 2.2–2.8 mm, glabrous; columella 1–1.5 mm. |
Seeds | pink to light gray, narrowly ovoid, 4-angled in cross section, 0.8–1 × 0.5–0.6 mm, dimpled or with faint transverse ridges that do not pass through abaxial keel. |
ashen, broadly ovoid, angled in cross section, faces plump, convex, 1.2–1.3 × 0.9–1.2 mm, obscurely pitted. |
Cyathia | solitary at distal nodes, nodes often congested toward tips of branches; peduncle 0.2–1.6 mm. |
solitary at distal nodes; peduncle 0.5–1 mm. |
Euphorbia setiloba |
Euphorbia mesembrianthemifolia |
|
Phenology | Flowering nearly year-round in response to sufficient moisture. | Flowering and fruiting year-round. |
Habitat | Desert scrub, blackbrush scrub, Joshua tree woodlands, grasslands, often in sandy areas. | Sandy and rocky shores, associated beach scrub. |
Elevation | 20–1600 m. (100–5200 ft.) | 0–10 m. (0–0 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NM; NV; TX; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, Sonora)
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FL; Mexico; West Indies; Bermuda; South America (Colombia, Venezuela) |
Discussion | Euphorbia mesembrianthemifolia is found in the flora area along the sandy and rocky shores of southern Florida from Pinellas and Volusia counties southward. It is one of the few members of subg. Chamaesyce in the flora area that is a shrub or subshrub. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 288. | FNA vol. 12, p. 277. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Chamaesyce setiloba | Chamaesyce buxifolia, C. mesembrianthemifolia, E. buxifolia |
Name authority | Engelmann: in War Department [U.S.], Pacif. Railr. Rep. 5(2): 364. (1857) | Jacquin: Enum. Syst. Pl., 22. (1760) |
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