696 EUPHORBIACEAE 
10. Croton betulinus Vahl. A trichotomously branched shrub 1-2 m. tall. Leaf- 
blades ovate, 1-2 cm. long, blunt, crenate-dentate, rounded or truncate at the biglandular 
: base, the pubescence more appressed beneath than above: petioles about 3 as long as the 
blades : flowers monoecious ; staminate subtended by lanceolate bracts 1-2 mm. long ; sepals 
oblong-oval, acute ; petals oblanceolate, ciliate ; stamens 9-12 ; filaments pilose at the base : 
pistillate flowers solitary or 2-3 below the staminate; sepals spatulate, accrescent ; petals 
smaller, subulate, or obsolete: capsules globose-oval, 4.5-5 mm. long: seeds oblong, 3-3.5 
mm. long, punctate. 
In rocky or sandy soil, peninsular Florida. Also in tropical America. 
11. Croton Floridànus Ferguson. A slender, woody annual plant, 2-5 dm. tall, with 
‘dichotomous or trichotomous scabro-stellate branches. Leaf-blades various, elliptic to 
ovate on the lower part of the stem, oblong to lanceolate above, 1-2 cm. long, serrate- 
crenate, biglandular at the base, short-petioled : flowers monoecious, 10-20 in sessile racemes 
2-4 cm. long; staminate inconspicuous ; sepals ovate or oblong-ovate ; petals oblong or 
nearly so, narrower than the sepals, ciliate ; stamens about 10: pistillate flowers solitary or 
several below the staminate, subtended by deltoid bracts ; sepals linear to oblanceolate or 
spatulate, accrescent ; petals rudimentary, subulate : capsules oblong-oval, about 4 mm. 
long : seeds oval, about 3 mm. long, each tipped with a thick caruncle. 
In sand, peninsular Florida. 
12. Croton glandulósus L. A tropical American species represented in our area by 
the following varieties: C. glandulosus septentrionàlis Muell. Arg. with coarsely-stellate fol- 
iage and serrate mainly oblong leaf-blades, ranges from Virginia to Iowa, Florida and 
Texas; C. glandulosus Cróftiae [C. glandulosus Lindheimeri Muell. Arg., not C. Lind- 
. heimerianus Scheele], with appressed-stellate foliage, and irregularly elliptic euh 
toothed leaf-blades 1-2 cm. long, occurs in Texas; C. glandulosus Simpsonii Ferguson, wit 
densely stellate foliage and coarsely serrate-crenate ovate leaf-blades, occurs in southern 
peninsular Florida; C. glandulosus crenatifülius Ferguson, with thinly appressed-stellate 
foliage and crenate elongated oblong upper leaf-blades, occurs in southern peninsular 
Florida and on the Keys; C. glandulosus angustifdlius Muell. Arg., with thinly appressed 
stellate foliage and linear remotely serrate upper leaf-blades, occurs in Florida and Texas. 
13. Croton capitàtus Michx. Annual, 3-8 dm. tall, the branches approximate 
above. Leaf-blades various, those of the lower leaves oval, those of the upper leaves ob- 
long, sometimes narrowly so, 2-5 cm. long, mucronate, entire, rounded or rarely cordate at 
the base and occasionally biglandular, velvety above, densely stellate-tomentose and paler 
beneath : petioles of the lower leaves as long as the blades or longer: racemes 1-3 em. 
long, with loose purplish tinged tomentum : flowers monoecious ; staminate short-pedicelled ; 
sepals 5, oval, nearly equal; petals 5, spatulate, ciliate ; stamens 7-12; filaments pubes- 
cent below ; pistillate flowers usually clustered below the staminate ; sepals 6-8, oblong to 
oblanceolate ; petals wanting ; styles 3, 2-3 times 2-cleft, 5-6 mm. long: capsules globular, 
7-9 mm. long, slightly shorter than the accrescent sepals : seeds suborbicular, much swollen, 
5 mm. long. 
In dry soil, New Jersey to Iowa, Georgia and Texas. 
14. Croton Engelmánnii Ferguson. Annual, 5-20 dm. tall, densely stellate-tomen- 
tose, the branches approximate or umbellate above. Leaf-blades lanceolate, sometimes 
broadly so, those of the lower leaves 10-20 cm. long, those of the upper much caei 
acute or somewhat acuminate, often shallowly and unevenly toothed, rounded or E 
cordate at the base: petioles of the lower leaves about as long as the blades, those of the 
uppershorter: racemes more or less interrupted, 5-15 cm. long, with yellow-tinged tomen- 
tum : flowers monoecious ; staminate distinctly pedicelled ; sepals ovate, acute ; petals spatu- 
late, ciliate ; stamens 9-12; filaments stellate-pubescent below : pistillate flowers usually , 
short-pedicelled ; sepals 7-8, acuminate, the inner ones smaller; petals wanting Ae " 
3, twice 2-cleft, 6-10 mm. long: capsules depressed, 6-8 mm. long: seeds oval-orbicular, 
4.5-5 mm. long. 
In dry soil, Georgia to Arkansas and Texas.—A larger, stouter and more branched fo 
broadly ovate lower leaf-blades and white pubescence, is C. Engelmannii albinoides Ferguson ; 
from the Indian Territory to Texas and New Mexico. 
rm, with 
it ranges 
15. Croton Ellióttii Chapm. Annual, 5-9 dm. tall, the stem scabrous below, Laser 
ubescent above, repeatedly branched, the branches approximate. Leaf-blades aes o 
inear-lanceolate, 4-5 cm. long, or shorter above, entire, usually blunt, 3-nerved at z 
narrowed base, velvety stellate above, gray-tomentose beneath, slender-petioled : racemes 
1-2 em. long: flowers monoecious ; staminate short-pedicelled ; sepals 5, narrowly enel 
petals linear, ciliate; stamens 8-10: pistillate flowers clustered ; sepals 6-7, unequa'; 
