620 COXTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



48. Croton fruticulosus Engelm. ; Torr. U. S. & IMex. Bound. Bot. 194. 1859. 

 Chihuahua to Nuevo Leon. Western Texas and southern New Mexico ; type 



from western Texas. 



Aromatic shrub, about 1 meter liigh, densely stellate-tomentose ; leaves long- 

 petiolate, ovate or deltoid-ovate, 3 to 8 cm. long, acute to attentuate, rounded 

 or subcordate at base, entire or nearly so. " Encinilla," " hierba loca " (Chi- 

 huahua, Ramirez.) 



49, Croton morifolius Willd. Sp. PI. 4: .535. 1805. 



Croton sphaerocarpus H. B. K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 2: 84. pi. 105. 1817. 



Durango to Veracruz and Oaxaca. 



Shrub, 1 to 3 meters high, copiously stellate-tomentose ; leaves broadly ovate 

 or cordate-ovate, 3 to 10 cm. long, acute to long-acuminate, entire or nearly so ; 

 racemes short or elongate. " Palillo " (Guanajuato, Queretaro, Oaxaca, 

 Michoacan). 



The plant is aromatic and contains an essential oil, which is applied extern- 

 ally for the relief of neuralgia. When inhaled, the oil is said to produce 

 insensibility and paralysis. An infusion of the leaves is taken internally for 

 pains in the stomach. 



DOUBTFUL SPECIES. 



Croton gaumeri Millsp. Field Mus. Bot. 2: 418. 191G. Type from Yucatan. 



Croton glandulosepalus Millsp. Field Mus. Bot. 2:419. 191G. Type from 

 Yucatan. 



Croton malvaviscifolius Millsp. Field Mus. Bot. 2 : 419. 1916. Type from 

 Yucatan. 



8. GABCIA llohr, Skrivt. Naturh. Selsk. (Kj0benhavn) 2: 217. 1792. 



1. Garcia nutans Rohr, Skrivt. Naturh. Selsk. (Kj0benhavn) 2: 217. pi. 9. 1792. 



Sinaloa and Tepic and probably elsewhere. Central America, Colombia, and 

 West Indies ; type from Santa Marta, Colombia. 



Small or large tree ; leaves alternate, oblong-obovate, 10 to 20 cm. long, 

 long-petiolate, short-acuminate, entire ; flowers monoecious, about 1 cm. long ; 

 capsule 2 or 3-seeded, about 2.5 cm. wide, fulvous-tomentulose. 



9. DITAXIS Vahl ; Juss. Euphorb. Gen. Tent. 27. 1824. 



Reference: Pax & HofEm. in Engl. Pflanzenreich IV. 147^': 51-77. 1912. 

 Small shrubs, commonly pubescent ; leaves alternate, usually petiolate, entire 

 or dentate, 3-nerved at the base, with small stipules ; flowers small, monoecious 

 or dioecious. 



Several herbaceous species occur in Mexico. 

 Ovary and capsule glabrous. 



Plant densely sericeous, at least on the leaves 1. D. heterantha. 



Plant glabrous 2. D. brandeg'ei. 



Ovary and capsule pubescent. 

 Flowers in long-pedunculate axillary racemes ; leaves 2 to 6.5 cm. wide. 



3. D. pringlei. 

 Flowers solitary or clustered in the axils, sessile or short-pedunculate ; 

 leaves mostly less than 2 cm. wide. 



Staminodia none or very short 4. D. lanceolata. 



Staminodia well developed. 



Flowers dioecious 5. D. palmeri. 



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