EUPHORBIACEAE 695 



more or less puberulent above, tomentose beneath, truncate or cordate at the base ; petioles 

 - as long as the blades : racemes 3-12 cm. long : flowers mostly monoecious, the staminate 

 in interrupted racemes, with pedicels 3-4 mm. long , sepals 5, oval, acute ; petals 5, oblong- 

 spatulate ; glands oval ; stamens 9-10 : pistillate flowers 2-5, nearly sessile ; sepals oblong 

 to oblanceolate ; petals obsolete or mere rudiments ; glands united into an annular disk : 

 capsules globose, 5-6 mm. high, depressed at the apex : seeds oval, 4-5 mm. long, each 

 with an oblong caruncle. 



In rocky soil or on bluffs, Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. 



4. Croton Berlandteri Torr. A low shrub 3-8 dm. tall, the younger branches 

 pubescent, viscid, becoming smooth and whitish. Leaf-blades ovate to oblong, 2.5-3.5 

 cm. long, base rounded to subcordate, the basilar glands often abortive, the apex usually 

 abruptly acute, the edges slightly repand and glandular, tomentose above when young, 

 pubescent and paler below : flowers monoecious or dioecious : racemes 3-7 cm. U>ng : stami-, 

 nate flowers on slender pedicels with 15-20 stamens (30-35 in western forms) : pistillate 

 flowers 2-6 at base of raceme, usually short pedicelled ; sepals oblong-spatulate with 

 sessile or short-stipitate marginal glands ; petals reduced to short subulate processes ; styles 

 3, palmately 4-parted or twice 2-parted, 3-5 mm. long : capsules globose, 45 mm. high. 



In sandy or dry soil, Florida, the lower coastal regions of Texas and Mexico. 



5. Croton suaveoleiis Torr. A stout much branched, short-jointed, glandular shrub, 

 densely and grayish or yellowish stellate-tomentose throughout. Leaf-blades thickish, 

 ovate or elliptical, 2-4 cm. long, rounded or narrowed at base, loose-tomentose on both 

 sides, whitish below, darker above ; petioles short, 5-15 mm. long ; stipular glands 

 papillae-like or cylindric, not often rising above the tomentum : racemes bisexual or uni- 

 sexual (or plants dioecious), stout, 2-4 cm. long and closely flowered; bracts simple or 

 variously lobed or divided, glandular : staminate flowers long-pedicelled ; stamens about 

 15 : pistillate flowers few, short-pedicelled ; petals reduced to subulate glands ; styles 3, 

 2-parted, 3-6 mm. long : capsules globose, 6-7 mm. long. 



In dry soil, northern and western Texas and Chihuahua. 



6. Croton Torreyknus Muell. Arg. A slender shrub 1-2 m. tall, the branches vel- 

 vety-stellate. Leaf-blades oblong or narrowly oblong, 3-5 cm. long, obtuse or mucronnlate, 

 dark green and tomentose above, whitish and densely stellate-tomentose beneath, short- 

 petioled : racemes 2-4 cm. long : staminate flowers numerous ; sepals 5, oblong, rather 

 acute ; petals oblanceolate ; stamens 12-15 : pistillate flowers usually 3, at the base of the 

 racemes; sepals 5, acuminate; petals rudimentary: capsules oblong, 6.5-7 mm. long, 

 densely pubescent : seeds about 6 mm. long, biconvex, depressed below the stalked caruncle. 



In dry or sandy soil, Texas and New Mexico to Mexico. 



7. Croton Cortesiamis Kunth. A shrub 2-3 m. tall, with gray stellate-pubescent 

 dichotomously or trichotomously forked branches. Leaf -blades oblong-ovate to ovate- 

 lanceolate, 3-10 cm. long, acute or acuminate, entire or slightly toothed, green and glabrous 

 above, gray beneath, petioled : staminate racemes 1-2 dm. long, interrupted, rather rigid : 

 stamens 12-16: pistillate spikes many-flowered, often 3-4 cm. long, dense, the rachis swollen: 

 sepals deltoid : petals linear or rudimentary : glands forming a 5-lobed disk : capsules 

 globose, 6-8 mm. high, coarsely hispid : seeds about 5 mm. long. 



In dry soil, southern Texas and Mexico. 



8. Croton linearis Jacq. A shrub 1-2 m. tall, with gray and scabrous dichotomously 

 or trichotomously forked branches and yellowish and densely stellate twigs. Leaf-blades 

 narrowly linear, 4-7 cm. long, 3-o mm. wide, obtuse, dark green and smooth above, 

 silvery beneath with stellate tomentum, narrowed to the 2-glandular base : petioles less than 

 5 mm. long : staminate racemes 4- 8 cm. long or becoming longer : sepals 5-6, triangular : 

 petals spatulate, surpassing the sepals, obtuse, ciliate : stamens about 15 : pistillate racemes 

 4-5 cm. long, frequently exceeded by the leaves : sepals narrow, acuminate : petals obsolete 

 or rudimentary : capsules subglobose, 5 mm. high, yellowish floccose : seeds broadly oblong, 

 about 3 mm. long. 



In pine lands, peninsular Florida and the Keys. Also in tropical America. 



9. Croton Fergusonii Small. A much-branched shrub about 1 m. tall, with whitish 

 or grayish stems and densely stellate twigs. Leaf-blades narrowly oblong or broadly 

 linear, 3-4.5 cm. long, 6-12 mm. wide, blunt, entire, their lower surface yellowish and 

 stellate like the twigs, the upper surface channeled and green but minutely stellate, short- 

 petioled : flowers dioecious ; staminate 12-25 in stout interrupted racemes 3-5 cm. long ; 

 sepals deltoid, acute ; petals spatulate, 2.5-3 mm. long, surpassing the sepals, ciliate ; sta- 

 mens about 15 : pistillate flowers about 6, in racemes 2-3 cm. long : capsules subglobose, 

 about 5 mm. long : seeds punctate, 3.5-4 mm. long. 



In sand, peninsular Florida. Also in the Bahamas. 



