702 EUPHORBIACEAE 
1. Tragia linearifolia Ell. Plants closely and minutely pubescent. Stems solitary 
or several from the base, erect or spreading, 1-4 dm. long, sparingly or diffusely branched, 
strict or slightly zigzag: leaf-blades linear, 3-10 cm. long, entire or undulate, sometimes 
curved, sessile or nearly so: racemes slender, often surpassing the leaves, branched in vig- 
orous specimens : bracts 1-1.5 mm. long: calyx sometimes minutely pubescent, that of the 
staminate flowers with 4-5 unequal sepals and 2 stamens: capsules 7-8 mm. broad, strigil- 
lose, one cavity often suppressed : seeds subglobose, 3-3.5 mm. in diameter, granular. 
In sand, Georgia and Florida. 
2. Tragia trens L. Plants softly pubescent with minute hairs. Stems solitary or 
several from the same base, erect or spreading, 1-4 dm. long, nearly simple or diffusely 
branched, rather rigid : leaf-blades oblong to cuneate, 2-5 cm. long, undulate or common} 
toothed, often very variable on the same plant, sessile or nearly so : racemes slender, muc 
surpassing the leaves, the rachis filiform : bracts about 1 mm. long: pedicels 1-3 mm. long: 
calyx puberulent, that of the staminate flowers with 4 sepals and 2 stamens: capsules less 
than 8-10 mm. broad, much depressed, strigillose : seeds subglobose, 3.5-4 mm. in diameter, 
smooth. [T. innocua Walt. ] 
In dry sandy soil, Virginia to Florida and Texas. 
3. Tragia nigricans Bush. Plants sparingly hispid, purple-green. Stems usually 
branched at the base, the branches erect or ascending, 2-4 dm. tall, commonly simple, essen- 
tially glabrous: leaf-blades oblong, sometimes narrowly so, 3-7 cm. long, acute, thinnish, 
coarsely serrate with rather flaring teeth, with scattered hairs, narrowly or broadly cuneate 
at the base, short-petioled : racemes few-flowered, much shorter than the leaves: bracts 
lanceolate, 1.5-2.5 mm. long: pedicels shorter than the bracts: staminate flowers with a 
calyx of 4 puberulent sepals and 4 stamens: pistillate flowers with a calyx of 6 hispid 
sepals: capsule depressed, about 10 mm. broad. 
In woods, west-central Texas. 
4. Tragia urticaefdlia Michx. Plants with stinging hairs. Stems erect or spreading, 
1-4 dm. long, often branched, hispid : leaf-blades triangular, ovate to lanceolate, 3-7 cm. 
long, coarsely and doubly serrate, truncate or cordate at the base, stout-petioled : racemes 
0.5-2.5 cm. long: staminate flowers with a calyx of 3 sepals, and 3 stamens: pistillate 
flowers with a calyx of 4 or 5 sepals : capsule much depressed, 7-10 mm. broad, hispid : 
seeds globular, 3.5-4 mm. in diameter, dark brown. 
In dry or sandy soil, South Carolina to Arkansas, Florida and Texas. 
_ 5. Tragia nepetaefólia Cav. Plants with stinging hairs. Stems slender, erect, or re- 
clining, 1-4 dm. long, rather appressed pubescent: leaf-blades triangular-ovate or lance- 
olate, 1-5 dm. long, dentate-serrate, cordate, slender-petioled, the lower sometimes orbic- 
ular: racemes 1-3.5 em. long, many-flowered : staminate flowers mostly with a calyx of 
sepals and 3 stamens : pistillate flowers with a calyx of 5 sepals: capsule much depressed, 
5-6 mm. in diameter, hirsute : seeds globose, chestnut brown, smooth, 4 mm. in diameter. 
In sandy soil, Kansas to Mexico and New Mexico. 
6. Tragia ramósa Torr. Plants light green, bristly with stinging hairs. Stems 5-30 
cm. long, slender, usually much branched, sometimes spreading: leaf-blades lanceolate, 
ovate-lanceolate or triangular-lanceolate, 1.2-5 cm. long, acute at the apex, coarsely an 
sharply serrate, truncate or cordate at the base, short-petioled : staminate flowers with a 
calyx of 4-5 sepals, and 4-6 stamens ; pistillate flowers solitary with a calyx of 5 sepals 
subtended by a 3-lobed bract : capsules much depressed, 6-8 mm. in diameter, orange, more 
or less variegated. 
In dry soil, Missouri to Texas, Colorado and Arizona. 
7. Tragia saxicola Small. Plants somewhat bristly with stinging hairs. Stem 
branched at the base ; the branches ascending or spreading, slender or wiry, 0.5-2 dm. long: 
leaf-blades suborbicular to broadly ovate, 1-2.5 cm. long, rounded at the apex, crenate- 
dentate, subcordate or cordate at the base, slender-petioled : staminate flowers short-pedi- 
celled, with 3 ovate sepals about 1 mm. long, and 3 stamens: pistillate flowers usually sol- 
itary, with 4 lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate sepals becoming 2.5-3 mm. long: capsules 
much depressed, 7-8 mm. broad, hairy. 
In rocky pine woods, southern peninsular Florida and the Keys. 
8. Tragia betonicaefólia Nutt. Plants softly pubescent and somewhat villous. Stems 
usually branched at the base, the branches erect or ascending, 1-3 dm. tall, simple or 
sparingly branched, often slightly zigzag : leaf-blades orbicular to broadly oblong, 2-4 cm. 
long, serrate, crenate-serrate or somewhat lobed, mostly rounded or cordate at the base, 
short-petioled or nearly sessile : racemes usually less than 1 em. long ; bracts surpassing the 
pedicels : staminate calyx with 4 sepals : stamens 2 : pistillate calyx with 4-5 sepals : ovary 
densely pubescent : capsules 3-lobed, less than 1 cm. broad. 
In sandy soil, Florida to Louisiana. 
