EUPHORBIACEAE 695 
more or less puberulent above, tomentose beneath, truncate or cordate at the base ; petioles 
4-3 as long as the blades: racemes 3-12 cm. long: flowers mostly monoecious, the staminate 
in interrupted racemes, with pedicels 3-4 mm. long, sepals 5, oval, acute ; petals 5, oblong- 
spatulate ; glands oval ; stamens 9-10: pistillate flowers 2-5, nearly sessile ; sepals oblong 
to oblanceolate ; petals obsolete or mere rudiments; glands united into an annular disk: 
capsules globose, 5-6 mm. high, depressed at the apex: seeds oval, 4-5 mm. long, each 
with an oblong caruncle. 
In rocky soil or on bluffs, Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. 
4. Croton Berlandiéri Torr. A low shrub 3-8 dm. tall, the younger branches 
pubescent, viscid, becoming smooth and whitish. Leaf-blades ovate to oblong, 2.5-3.5 
em. long, base rounded to subcordate, the basilar glands often abortive, the apex usually 
abruptly acute, the edges slightly repand and glandular, tomentose above k ii young, 
pubescent and paler below : flowers monoecious or dioecious : racemes 3-7 cm. long : stami-, 
nate flowers on slender pedicels with 15-20 stamens (30-35 in western forms): pistillate 
flowers 2-6 at base of raceme, usually short pedicelled ; sepals oblong-spatulate with 
sessile or short-stipitate marginal glands ; petals reduced to short subulate processes ; styles 
3, palmately 4-parted or twice 2-parted, 3-5 mm. long: capsules globose, 4-5 mm. high. 
In sandy or dry soil, Florida, the lower coastal regions of Texas and Mexico. 
5. Croton suavéolens Torr. A stout much branched, short-jointed, glandular shrub, 
densely and grayish or yellowish stellate-tomentose throughout. Leaf-blades thickish, 
ovate or elliptical, 2-4 cm. long, rounded or narrowed at base, loose-tomentose on both 
sides, whitish below, darker above; petioles short, 5-15 mm. long; stipular glands 
papillae-like or cylindric, not often rising above the tomentum : racemes bisexual or uni- 
sexual (or plants dioecious), stout, 2-4 cm. long and closely flowered ; bracts simple or 
variously lobed or divided, glandular: staminate flowers long-pedicelled ; stamens about 
15: pistillate flowers few, short-pedicelled ; petals reduced to subulate glands; styles 3, 
2-parted, 3-6 mm. long: capsules globose, 6-7 mm. long. 
In dry soil, northern and western Texas and Chihuahua. 
6. Croton Torreyanus Muell. Arg. A slender shrub 1-2 m. tall, the branches vel- 
vety-stellate. Leaf-blades oblong or narrowly oblong, 3-5 cm. long, obtuse or mucronulate, 
dark green and tomentose above, whitish and densely stellate-tomentose beneath, short- 
petioled : racemes 2-4 cm. long: staminate flowers numerous; sepals 5, oblong, rather 
acute ; petals oblanceolate ; stamens 12-15: pistillate flowers usually 3, at the base of the 
racemes; sepals 5, acuminate; petals rudimentary: capsules oblong, 6.5-7 mm. long, 
densely pubescent : seeds about 6 mm. long, biconvex, depressed below the stalked caruncle. 
In dry or sandy soil, Texas and New Mexico to Mexico. 
. , 7. Croton Cortesianus Kunth. A shrub 2-3 m. tall, with gray stellate-pubescent 
dichotomously or trichotomously forked branches. Leaf-blades oblong-ovate to ovate- 
lanceolate, 3-10 cm. long, acute or acuminate, entire or slightly toothed, green and glabrous 
above, gray beneath, petioled : staminate racemes 1-2 dm. long, interrupted, rather rigid : 
stamens 12-16: pistillate spikes many-flowered, often 3-4 cm. long, dense, the rachis swollen: 
sepals deltoid: petals linear or rudimentary : glands forming a 5-lobed disk: capsules 
globose, 6-8 mm. high, coarsely hispid : seeds about 5 mm. long. 
In dry soil, southern Texas and Mexico. 
8. Croton linearis J acq. A shrub 1-2 m. tall, with gray and scabrous dichotomously 
or trichotomously forked branches and yellowish and densely stellate twigs. Leaf-blades 
narrowly linear, 4-7 cm. long, 3-5 mm. wide, obtuse, dark green and smooth above, 
silvery beneath with stellate tomentum, narrowed to the 2-glandular base : petioles less than 
5 mm. long : staminate racemes 4-8 cm. long or becoming longer: sepals 5-6, triangular : 
petals spatulate, surpassing the sepals, obtuse, ciliate : stamens about 15: pistillate racemes 
9 cm. long, frequently exceeded by the leaves : sepals narrow, acuminate : petals obsolete 
or rudimentary : capsules subglobose, 5 mm. high, yellowish floccose : seeds broadly oblong, 
about 3 mm. long. 
In pine lands, peninsular Florida and the Keys. Also in tropical America. 
9. Croton Fergusdnii Small. A much-branched shrub about 1 m. tall, with whitish 
or grayish stems and densely stellate twigs. Leaf-blades narrowly oblong or broadly 
linear, 3-4.5 em. long, 6-12 mm. wide, blunt, entire, their lower surface yellowish and 
stellate like the twigs, the upper surface channeled and green but minutely stellate, short- 
petioled : flowers dioecious ; staminate 12-25 in stout interrupted racemes 3-5 cm. long ; 
sepals deltoid, acute ; petals spatulate, 2.5-3 mm. long, surpassing the sepals, ciliate ; sta- 
mens about 15: pistillate Howers about 6, in racemes 2-3 cm. long: capsules subglobose, 
about 5 mm. long : seeds punctate, 3.5-4 mm. long. 
Insand, peninsular Florida. Also in the Bahamas, 
