Manihot grahamii
Manihot subspicata
Graham's manihot, Graham's manihot or cassava, hardy tapioca
palo mulato, spike manihot
erect, angled when young;
nodes not swollen;
leaf and stipule scars not elevated.
lax (often leaning on other vegetation), 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 2–10 cm;
blade basally attached to subpeltate, 5-lobed, lobes with acute secondary lobes near base, median lobe 2–10 cm, margins thickened and revolute, remotely serrate, apex acute to acuminate (bristle-tipped), surfaces glabrous, abaxial smooth.
axillary, panicles, to 30 cm.
terminal, racemes, 25 cm.
staminate 4–10 mm; pistillate 10–40 mm in fruit, straight.
staminate 1–5 mm; pistillate 10–20 mm in fruit, downcurved.
calyx campanulate, 10–15 mm, lobes erect or spreading;
stamens 10.
calyx campanulate to conic, 8–13 mm, lobes reflexed;
stamens 10.
1.8 cm, smooth, not winged.
1.5 cm, smooth, not winged.
oblong, 10–12 mm.
oblong, 10 mm.
Manihot grahamii
Manihot subspicata
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.)
Although D. J. Rogers and S. G. Appan (1973) characterized leaf blades of Manihot subspicata as peltate, seldom are leaves unambiguously so. Typically, just the thickened margins of lateral lobes are confluent across the distal end of the petiole. Though relatively common in northern Mexico, M. subspicata is known in Texas only from the vicinity of Lake Corpus Christi (Jim Wells and Live Oak counties); whether native or introduced there is unresolved. In Mexico, M. subspicata appears to be tolerant of disturbance, frequently colonizing roadsides and similar habitats.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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