EUPHORBIACEAE 697 



petals wanting ; styles 3, twice 2-cleft, 2-3 mm. long : capsules globose, 4-5 mm. long, 

 sometimes surpassed by the accrescent hooded sepals : seeds oval, 3-4 mm. long. 

 In sandy soil, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. 



16. Croton leucophyllus Muell. Arg. Annual, 3-5 dm. tall, densely white or yel- 

 lowish stellate-tomentose, the stem 2-3-dichotomous. Leaf-blades ovate or oblong-ovate, 

 2-3.5 cm. long, blunt, entire, dark and rough above, pale beneath, rounded at the base : 

 petioles as long as the blades or somewhat shorter : racemes 1-2 cm. long, congested ; 

 flowers monoecious ; staminate short-pedicelled ; sepals 5, oval ; petals oblong-spatulate ; 

 stamens 8-10 : pistillate flowers few ; sepals 5, the 3 outer oblong, the 2 inner smaller and 

 abruptly subulate ; petals wanting ; styles 3, 2-cleft, 1-2 mm. long : capsules globular, 

 often depressed, 4-5 mm. long, J longer than the sepals : seeds oval, 3-4 mm. long. 



In sandy soil, southern Texas. 



17. Croton Lindheimerianus Scheele. Annual, 3-5 dm. tall, greenish pubescent 

 throughout^ the stem 2-4-cliotonious. Leaf-blades oval to ovate, often somewhat rhombic, 

 1-3 cm. long, rounded or retuse at the apex, entire or undulate, truncate or cordate at the 

 base : petioles mostly about as long as the blades : racemes few-flowered : flowers monoe- 

 cious ; staminate short-pedicelled ; sepals 5, ovate ; petals 5, spatulate, copiously ciliate ; 

 stamens 7-12 ; filaments nearly glabrous : pistillate flowers solitary or 2 or 3 together, at 

 the base of the raceme, the long pedicels becoming reflexed ; sepals 5, spatulate to lan- 

 ceolate, nearly equal ; petals wanting or obsolete ; styles 3, 2-parted, about 3 ram. long : 

 capsules oval or ovoid-cylindric, 4-5 mm. long, more or less depressed at both ends, 

 usually less than twice as long as the sepals : seeds oblong, 3-4 mm. long. 



On prairies or in sandy soil, Kansas to Texas and Mexico. 



18. Croton monanthdgynus Michx. Annual, 3-5 dm. tall, whitish, or sometimes 

 rusty stellate-pubescent or becoming papillate, the stem repeatedly 2-4-chotomous. Leaf- 

 blades various, those of the lower leaves suborbicular on long petioles, those of the ujjper 

 leaves ovate or oblong-ovate, 1-4 cm. long, or slightly longer, usually mucronate, entire, 

 on petioles about ^ their length : racemes about 1 cm. long : flowers monoecious ; stam- 

 inate short-pedicelled ; sepals 3-5, ovate ; petals spatulate, ciliate ; stamens 3 to 10 : 

 pistillate flowers 1-4 below the staminate, reflex at maturity ; sepals 5, oblong ; petals 

 obsolete ; ovary 2-celIed : capsules ovoid or oval, 3-4 mm. long : seed solitary by the abor- 

 tion of one ovule, 2.5-3.5 mm. long. 



In rocky soil and waste places, Iowa to Illinois, Georgia, Texas and Mexico. 



19. Croton corymbulosus Engelm. Shrubby, silvery throughout, with several 

 stems, simple below, more or less corymbose above. Leaf -blades oval to broadly oblong or 

 suborbicular, 2-4.5 cm. long, mostly mucronate, entire, more loosely pubescent beneath 

 than above, rounded at the base : petioles mostly i as long as the blades : racemes becom- 

 ing quite loose : flowers monoecious or frequently dioecious ; staminate relatively long- 

 pedicelled ; sepals 5, oblong, blunt ; petals spatulate, densely ciliate ; stamens 6-18 : 

 filaments pubescent below, much exserted : pistillate flowers on much longer pedicels 

 than the staminate and at length recurved ; sepals 5-6 ; petals wanting or mere subulate 

 rudiments ; styles 3, 2-parted, 3-8 mm. long : capsules oval or oblong, 4-7 mm. long, 

 usually f longer than the sepals : seeds oblong, 3-5 mm. long. 



In sandy soil, Texas to Arizona and Mexico. 



20. Croton punct^tus Jacq. Perennial, 5-10 dm. tall, the stem 2-3-chotomous, 

 like the branches gray or rusty tomentose. Leaf-blades elliptic, oblong or ovate, 1-5 cm. 

 long, entire or merely undulate, truncate or cordate at the base, pale or whitish through- 

 out, pubernlent above, densely scaly-tomentose beneath : petioles ^ as long as the blades 

 or shorter above : racemes few-flowered : flowers monoecious or dioecious ; staminate in 

 racemes 1-2 cm. long, short-pedicelled ; sepals 5-6, triangular, nearly equal ; petals want- 

 ing or rudimentary ; stamens normally 12, barely exserted ; filaments pubescent : pistillate 

 flowers 1-3 in a raceme ; sepals 5, equal, oblong or cuneate ; petals wanting ; ovary 3- 

 celled : capsules subglobose, more or less depressed, 5-8 mm. long, seated in the unchanged 

 calyx : seeds about 6 mm. long. [C maritimus Walt.] 



In sand or sandy soil along sea shores, North Carolina to Florida, Texas and Mexico. Also in 

 tropical America. 



21. Croton Neo-Mexic^nus Muell. Arg. Shrubby, 3-16 dm. tall, with several 

 erect dichotomous stems from a woody base, silvery throughout, except the upper leaf-sur- 

 faces. Leaf-blades narrowly oblong, lanceolate, or elliptic, 1-4 cm. long, entire, green or 

 greenish above, short-petioled : racemes 4-8 cm. long, or the pistillate shorter : flowers 

 dioecious ; staminate often numerous, short-pedicelled ; sepals 5, lanceolate, equal, relatively 

 thin ; petals wanting ; stamens 10-12 ; filaments pubescent : pistillate flowers 2-several, or 



