TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Annual, perennial herb, shrub, tree, vine, monoecious or dioecious
Stem generally branched, sometimes fleshy or spiny
Leaves generally simple, alternate or opposite, generally stipuled, petioled; blade entire, toothed, or palmately lobed
Inflorescence: cyme, panicle, raceme, spike; flowers sometimes in clusters (dense, enclosed by involucre, flower-like in Chamaesyce, Euphorbia ), terminal or axillary
Flower unisexual, ± radial; sepals generally 35, free or fused; petals generally 0; stamens 1many, free or filaments fused; ovary superior, chambers 14, styles free or fused, simple or lobed
Fruit: generally capsule
Seeds 12 per chamber; seed scar appendage sometimes present, pad- to dome-like
Genera in family: 300 genera, 7500 species: ± worldwide especially tropical; some cultivated (Aleurites , tung oil; Euphorbia subsp.; Hevea , rubber; Ricinus )
Reference: [Webster 1967 J Arnold Arbor 48:303430]
Many species ± highly TOXIC .
Annual, perennial herb, < 2 m, monoecious; sap clear or milky
Stems erect
Leaves alternate, simple, entire or toothed; stipules minute, petioled; blade base generally with 2 glands
Inflorescence: spike, axillary or terminal; bracts glandular
Staminate flower: calyx 2-lobed; petals 0, stamens 2; nectary disk 0
Pistillate flower: sepals 3 (overlapping in bud), reduced, or 0; petals 0; ovary 3-chambered, styles free, fused below, lobes 0
Fruit generally 3-lobed, separating into 3 1-seeded segments; central axis persistent
Seeds pointed; scar not appendaged
Species in genus: 30 species: tropical, warm temp
Etymology: (Latin: Benjamin Stllingfleet, British botanist, 17021771)
Reference: [Johnston & Warnock 1963 Southw Naturalist 8:100106]
Native |
Perennial < 5 dm
Leaf: blade 38 cm, 1.55 mm wide, linear, margin few-toothed below middle, teeth ± spiny
Inflorescence 27 cm; glands of pistillate bracts subsessile, ± 11.5 mm
Pistillate flowers 23 per inflorescence, crowded; styles ± 2.5 mm
Fruit 44.5 mm
Seed 2.53 mm, smooth
Ecology: Slopes, flats, creosote-bush scrub
Elevation: < 1500 m.
Bioregional distribution: Mojave Desert, n Sonoran Desert
Distribution outside California: Arizona
Flowering time: AprJun