Manihot grahamii
Manihot angustiloba
Graham's manihot, Graham's manihot or cassava, hardy tapioca
desert-mountain manihot, narrow-leaf cassava, pata de gallo
erect, angled when young;
nodes not swollen;
leaf and stipule scars not elevated.
erect, terete when young;
nodes not swollen;
leaf and stipule scars not elevated.
deciduous;
stipules linear, remotely serrate;
petiole 5–33 cm;
blade basally attached, 5–13-lobed, median and adjacent lobes with pair of weakly defined rounded secondary lobes distal to middle, lateral lobes without secondary lobes, median lobe 5–24 cm, margins neither thickened nor revolute, entire, apex acuminate, surface glabrous, abaxial smooth.
stipules lanceolate, entire;
petiole 3–12 cm;
blade basally attached, 5–7-lobed, lobes with acute secondary lobes proximally, median lobe 5–15 cm, margins neither thickened nor revolute, remotely serrate, apex acute, surfaces glabrous, abaxial smooth.
axillary, panicles, to 30 cm.
axillary, racemes, to 12 cm.
staminate 4–10 mm;
pistillate 10–40 mm in fruit, straight.
staminate 3–8 mm;
pistillate 10–25 mm in fruit, downcurved.
calyx campanulate, 10–15 mm, lobes erect or spreading;
stamens 10.
calyx campanulate, 10–18 mm, lobes erect or spreading;
stamens 10.
1.8 cm, smooth, not winged.
1.5 cm, finely tuberculate, not winged.
oblong, 10–12 mm.
globose, 12 mm.
Manihot grahamii
Manihot angustiloba
Manihot grahamii is native to northern Argentina, southeastern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and is sometimes cultivated for its distinctive, attractive foliage. The flowers are relatively inconspicuous, but are much-visited by bees. This is the most cold-tolerant Manihot species; above-ground stems survive light frosts and if severe cold kills the aerial shoot system outright, new stems can regenerate from underground parts. It survives well and self-sows in garden settings as far north as tidewater Virginia; northern limits for the persistence of plants escaping from cultivation have yet to be established. In addition to characteristics noted in the key, herbarium specimens frequently exhibit contracted petiole bases.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
D. J. Rogers and S. G. Appan (1973) noted the overall similarity and nearly identical geographic ranges of Manihot angustiloba and M. davisiae, yet they maintained these taxa as separate species, presumably because of their (nearly) constant and consistent differences in leaf lobe outline. Manihot angustiloba has generally narrow, nearly linear, primary lobes with a pair of serrate secondary lobes forming the widest portion of the lobe proximal to the middle; M. davisiae has generally broader leaf lobes with one pair of rounded secondary lobes that form the widest portion of the lobe distal to the middle, or two pairs of nearly equal, rounded, secondary lobes proximal and distal to the middle. Some specimens exhibit an intermediate condition: primary lobes that are narrow distally but also bear a pair of rounded secondary lobes proximal to the middle.
In the flora area, Manihot angustiloba is restricted to Cochise, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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