GENUS 3. 



SPURGE FAMILY. 



455 



3. Croton monanthogynus Michx. Single- fruited Croton. 



C. monanthogynus Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 215. 1803. 



Annual, monoecious, silvery green, rather densely 

 stellate-pubescent and somewhat glandular. Main 

 stem slender, 4'-8' high, simple, or sparingly branched 

 above, topped by a 3-5-rayed umbel with rays s'-is' 

 long, forked or umbellately branched ; leaves ovate 

 or oblong, 5"-ii' long, entire or undulate, obtuse or 

 subcordate at the base; petioles usually about half 

 as long as the blades ; staminate flowers clustered 

 at the ends of erect peduncles, with 3-5 unequal 

 calyx-segments, the same number of petals and scale- 

 like glands, and 3-8 stamens ; pistilulate flowers 

 mostly solitary, on recurved pedicels, with 5 equal 

 calyx-segments, no petals, 5 glands and 2 sessile 

 2-cleft stigmas ; capsule ovoid or oblong-ovoid, 2"-2i" 

 long, i-2-celled ; seeds oval or orbicular, variegated, 

 minutely pitted, shining. 



In dry soil, North Carolina to Indiana and Kansas, 

 south to Florida and Mexico. Prairie-tea. June-Oct. 



Fig. 2715. 



4. Croton Lindheimerianus Scheele. Lind- 

 heimer's Croton. Fig. 2716. 



Croton Lindheimerianus Scheele, Linnaea 25: 580. 1852. 



Somewhat shrubby, whitish-tomentose. Stems erect, 

 4/-I5' tall, sometimes diffusely branched ; leaves rather 

 numerous, the blades ovate to oblong-ovate, \'-2 f long, 

 obtuse or acutish, green above, undulate ; petioles almost 

 as long as the blades or shorter; pedicels i"~3" long, 

 recurving; calyx slightly accrescent, its segments oblong 

 or elliptic-oblong, becoming 2" long, slightly keeled in 

 age; petals pubescent; capsules oval, 3"~3^" long, 

 3-celled, tomentose, truncate-obtuse at both ends, droop- 

 ing; seeds oblong-elliptic, nearly 2" long. 



In dry soil, Kansas to Texas and New Mexico. Summer. 



5. Croton texensis (Klotzsch) Muell. Arg. Texas Croton. Fig. 2717. 



Hendecandra texensis Klotzch, Erichs. Arch, i : 252. 



1841. 

 Croton texensis Muell. Arg. in DC. Prodr. 15 : Part 2, 



692. 1862. 



Annual, dioecious, often bronze-green, canescent 

 with stellate pubescence. Stem rather slender, erect 

 or assurgent, 8'-2 high, paniculately or corymbosely 

 branched ; leaves ovate to linear-oblong, or almost 

 linear, io"-3$' long, entire or undulate; petioles 

 mostly shorter than the blades ; staminate flowers 

 racemose; pistillate flowers sessile or nearly so in 

 stalked clusters ; calyx equally 5-parted, the segments 

 ovate ; petals none ; glands 5, minute ; stamens mostly 

 10; styles 3. twice or thrice 2-cleft; capsule subglo- 

 bose. 2$"-3" in diameter; somewhat muricate; seeds 

 ovoid or oval, variegated, finely reticulated. 



In dry soil, South Dakota to Illinois, Alabama, Wyo- 

 ming and Arizona. Recorded from Delaware. Skunk- 

 weed. June-Sept. 



