Phyllanthus caroliniensis
Phyllanthus tenellus
Carolina leaf-flower
Mascarene Island leaf-flower
terete, not winged [narrowly winged], glabrous or scabridulous.
main stems terete, not winged, glabrous or scabridulous; ultimate branchlets subterete, not winged, glabrous or scabridulous.
distichous; all well developed;
stipules auriculate, pale brown or reddish brown;
blade elliptic or oblong to obovate, 5–20(–30) × 2–10(–15) mm, base acute, apex obtuse to rounded and apiculate, both surfaces glabrous or scabridulous.
on main stems spiral, scalelike;
stipules not auriculate, reddish brown.;
leaves on ultimate branchlets distichous, well developed;
stipules not auriculate, pale green or pink with paler margins;
blade elliptic to obovate, 6–25 × 4–11 mm, base acute to rounded, apex acute to obtuse, both surfaces glabrous.
cymules, bisexual, with 1–3(–5) pistillate flowers and 1–2 staminate flowers.
cymules or flowers solitary, proximal bisexual with 1–2 pistillate flowers and 2–3 staminate flowers, distal with 1 pistillate flower.
staminate 0.5–1 mm, pistillate sharply reflexed in fruit, 0.5–1(–1.5) mm.
staminate 0.5–1.5 mm, pistillate flexuous, capillary, and pendent in fruit, (2.5–)3–8 mm.
sepals (5–)6, pale yellowish green, flat, 0.5–0.7 mm;
nectary extrastaminal, 6 glands;
stamens 3, filaments distinct.
sepals 5, white except green midrib, flat, 0.4–0.7 mm;
nectary extrastaminal, 5 glands;
stamens 5, filaments distinct.
sepals (5–)6(–7), green, often suffused with red, with scarious margins, flat, 0.6–1.4 mm, 1-veined;
nectary cupular or annular, lobed or unlobed.
sepals 5, white except green midrib, flat, 0.6–0.8 mm, 1-veined;
nectary annular, unlobed.
1.6–2 mm diam., smooth.
1.7–1.9 mm diam., smooth.
uniformly brown, 0.7–1.1 mm, verrucose.
uniformly brown, 0.8–0.9 mm, evenly papillate.
= 36 (subsp. guianensis, West Indies).
= 26.
Phyllanthus caroliniensis
Phyllanthus tenellus
Subspecies 4 (2 in the flora).
Phyllanthus caroliniensis is the most widespread Phyllanthus in the flora area and in the Americas. In addition to the two subspecies in the flora, there are two others. Subspecies guianensis (Klotzsch) G. L. Webster, found in the West Indies, Central America, and northern South America, is similar to subsp. caroliniensis but distinguished by longer stipules (1.5–2 mm versus 0.8–12 mm) and staminate nectary glands that are longer than wide (versus as wide or wider than long). Subspecies stenopterus (Müller Arg.) G. L. Webster, of southern Central America and northern South America, is recognizable by its narrowly winged stems.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Phyllanthus tenellus is easily recognized by its long, capillary pistillate pedicels that are flexuous and pendent in fruit; it is native to the Mascarene Islands and perhaps to eastern Africa, other western Indian Ocean Islands, and the Arabian Peninsula, and is widely naturalized in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. It appears to have been introduced into Florida in the 1920s and is continuing to spread. Phyllanthus tenellus has been reported from Arkansas (E. Sundell et al. 1999) and California as a nursery weed (G. F. Hrusa, pers. comm.), and from Oklahoma in flower beds (B. W. Hoagland, pers. comm.), and may be expected to become naturalized in those states.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Pistillate sepals 0.2–0.3 mm wide; leaf blade vein reticulum clearly visible abaxially; stems glabrous; cymules with 1 staminate and (1–)2–3(–5) pistillate flowers; pistillate nectary cupular, unlobed, enclosing ovary 1/3–1/2 length. | subsp. caroliniensis |
1. Pistillate sepals (0.2–)0.3–0.5(–0.7) mm wide; leaf blade vein reticulum obscure or invisible abaxially; stems usually sparsely to densely scabridulous; cymules with 1–2 staminate and 1–2 pistillate flowers; pistillate nectary annular, unlobed or 6-lobed, enclosing ovary basally. | subsp. saxicola |
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