Tragia ramosa |
Tragia brevispica |
|
---|---|---|
branch noseburn, branch or desert or common noseburn, desert noseburn, desert tragia |
short-spike noseburn |
|
Habit | Subshrubs, 1.2–5 dm. | Herbs or vines, 2–12 dm. |
Stems | erect to trailing, dark green to light green, apex rarely flexuous. |
decumbent, twining, or erect, light green, apex usually flexuous. |
Leaves | petiole 2–20 mm; blade linear-lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 1–4 × 0.5–2 cm, base truncate to weakly cordate, margins serrate, apex acute. |
petiole 6–38 mm; blade triangular to cordate, 1.9–6 × 1.5–3.5 cm, base truncate to cordate, margins serrate to crenate, apex acute. |
Inflorescences | terminal (often appearing leaf opposed), glands few, sessile, staminate flowers 2–20 per raceme; staminate bracts 1.5–2 mm. |
terminal (often appearing leaf-opposed), glands absent, staminate flowers 2–8[–10] per raceme; staminate bracts 1–1.8 mm. |
Pedicels | staminate 0.7–2 mm, persistent base 0.4–1.5 mm; pistillate 2–2.5 mm in fruit. |
staminate 0.7–2 mm, persistent base 0.4–1.5 mm; pistillate 2–4 mm in fruit. |
Staminate flowers | sepals 3–4, green, 1–2.2 mm; stamens 3–6(–10), filaments 0.3–1 mm. |
sepals 3–4[–5], green, 1–1.5 mm; stamens 3–4(–5), filaments 0.3–0.6 mm. |
Pistillate flowers | sepals lanceolate, 0.8–2.5 mm; styles connate 1/3–1/2 length, long-exserted; stigmas smooth to undulate. |
sepals ovate, 1.3–3.5 mm; styles connate 1/3 length; stigmas subpapillate to undulate. |
Capsules | 6–8 mm wide. |
6.5–7 mm wide, often 1 carpel maturing. |
Seeds | dark brown, 2.5–3.5 mm. |
dark brown, 2.5–3.8 mm. |
2n | = 44. |
= 44. |
Tragia ramosa |
Tragia brevispica |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–fall; fruiting late spring–fall. | Flowering spring–fall; fruiting late summer–fall. |
Habitat | Mesquite, desert scrub, pine-juniper, oak woodlands. | Open forests, scrublands, disturbed roadsides, open fields, often on loam and clay soils. |
Elevation | 200–2800 m. (700–9200 ft.) | 10–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) |
Distribution |
AR; AZ; CA; CO; KS; MO; NE; NM; NV; TX; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas)
|
LA; OK; TX; Mexico (Nuevo León) |
Discussion | Tragia ramosa is a variable species showing much environmental plasticity. Collections from the western United States and western Mexico have much broader leaves than those from Texas and Nuevo León, and were previously referred to as T. stylaris. Smooth stigmatic surfaces, three to six (rarely to ten) stamens, and narrow apical leaves are characters consistent with T. ramosa. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The leaves of Tragia brevispica are highly variable and frequently resemble those of T. ramosa, which differs in having smooth stigmas and leaf blades much longer than wide. The presence of 1-carpellate fruit in T. brevispica is unique in Tragia in the flora area. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 189. | FNA vol. 12, p. 186. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Tragia | Euphorbiaceae > Tragia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | T. angustifolia, T. nepetifolia var. angustifolia, T. nepetifolia var. ramosa, T. ramosa var. latifolia, T. stylaris, T. stylaris var. angustifolia, T. stylaris var. latifolia | T. nepetifolia var. scutellariifolia, T. nepetifolia var. teucriifolia, T. scutellariifolia, T. teucriifolia |
Name authority | Torrey: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 2: 245. (1827) | Engelmann & A. Gray: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 5: 262. (1845) |
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