Flora of North America species comparison

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Phaulothamnus spinescens

Phaulothamnus

devilqueen, putia, Snake-eyes

phaulothamnus, Snake-eyes
Habit Plants erect, to 2.5 m, glabrous. Shrubs, diffusely branched; branches spreading, spinescent.
Bark

grayish, smooth, glabrous.
Leaves

sessile or petiolate;

blade to 35 × 12 mm, broadest distal to middle;

petiole ± 1 mm.

deciduous [persistent], alternate or clustered at nodes;

blade spatulate to oblanceolate, apex rounded to somewhat retuse and mucronate, narrowed into petiole or sessile.
Inflorescences

racemose or flowers solitary; bracteate.
Flowers

yellow-green;

tepals 4, 2.5 × 2 mm.

1–12;

tepals persistent, suborbicular to obovate, concave, margins scarious.
Staminate flowers

stamens 12–14;

filaments ± 1.5 mm;

anthers ± 1.8 mm.
Pistillate flowers

stigmas ± 2 mm, papillose.
Berries

gray-translucent to white, tinged with green, borne on peduncle 0.5–2 × 4–5 mm diam.

transparent, globose, slightly compressed, thin-coriaceous, juicy.
Seed

black, 1–2 mm, granular and rugose, visible through fruit wall.

Phaulothamnus spinescens

Phaulothamnus
Phenology Flowering summer–fall; fruiting fall–winter.
Habitat Sandy to clayey soils in thickets, wooded areas
Elevation 0-200 m (0-700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
TX; Mexico (Baja California, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; n Mexico
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Phaulothamnus spinescens is very infrequent, scattered in the lower south Texas plains and adjacent Mexico. Because the seeds are black and easily seen within the translucent fruits, the fruits give the appearance of a small eye, hence the common name snake-eyes.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species 1.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 13. FNA vol. 4, p. 13.
Parent taxa Achatocarpaceae > Phaulothamnus Achatocarpaceae
Subordinate taxa
P. spinescens
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 20: 294. (1885) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 20: 293. (1885)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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