2024 Edition • Get the App
X

Colors

Data mode

Account

Login
Sign up

Click the number at the start of a key lead to highlight both that lead and its corresponding lead. Click again to show only the two highlighted leads. Click a third time to return to the full key with the selected leads still highlighted.

Key to Euphorbia, Key C: subgenus Chamaesyce, section Alectoroctonum

Copy permalink to share | Check for keys that lead to this key

1 Upper stem leaves and/or dichasial bracts with white margins or entirely white.
  2 Cyathial bracts glabrous, often entirely white (less commonly only white along margins)
  2 Cyathial bracts densely pilose, with conspicuous white margins.
    3 Leaf surfaces pilose; cyathial bracts linear to narrowly oblanceolate; seeds 4.3-4.5 mm long
    3 Leaf surfaces glabrous; cyathial bracts narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate; seeds 3.7-3.9 mm long
1 Upper stem leaves and bracteal leaves entirely green, not whitened.
      4 Leaves opposite, linear-filiform; [primarily of the c. US, w. of the MS river]
      4 Leaves alternate, variously shaped (linear to ovate); [widespread, including c. US].
        5 Petaloid appendages (0.5-) 1.0-4.4 mm long (measured along a radius), about as long as wide or longer, white; stems 1.4-9 (-11) dm tall, erect or ascending.
          6 Leaves broad (ovate, oblanceolate, elliptic, or lanceolate), < 5.5× as long as wide; leaf blades slightly revolute or planar; glands green.
             7 Involucral glands 4; leaf adaxial (upper) surface densely pilose; leaf bases cordate
             7 Involucral glands 5; leaf adaxial (upper) surface usually glabrous (besides ciliate margins in E. apocynifolia); leaf bases cuneate to rounded.
               8 Petioles 5-11 mm long; leaves with ciliate margins; cyathia across the appendages ca. 2.5 mm; nodes 7-11 below the umbels; [shady, mesic hardwood forests over limestone or in sand over limestone]
               8 Petioles 0-3.5 (-10) mm long; leaves without ciliate margins; cyathia across the appendages (3.5-) 4-8 (-11) mm; nodes 20-75 nodes below the umbels; [habitats various, generally open, drier, and acidic, e.g., pine woods, sandhills, sandstone, ruderal sites]
                 9 Plants (2-) 4-9 (-13) dm tall; aerial stems multiple, (1-) 3-10 stems from a crown, each (1.2-) 2.5-5 (-7) mm in diameter at the base; leaves ascending, leathery, sessile; primary bracts smaller than stem leaves; petaloid appendages oblong or spatulate, 2.5-4.4 mm long; seeds 2.6-3.2 mm long; [NH and MA west to s. ON, MI, WI, MN, and NE, south to se.VA, c. NC, n. GA, s. AL, and e. TX]
                 9 Plants 3.5-6.5 dm tall; aerial stems 1 (-3) from a crown, each 1.0-2.2 mm in diameter at the base; leaves usually reflexed, thin, petiolate or subpetiolate; primary bracts similar to stem leaves in size; petaloid appendages orbicular or oval, 0.9-2.2 mm long; seeds 1.8-2.3 mm long; [c. MD, VA, and c. and sw. TN, south to Panhandle FL and s. MS]
          6 Leaves linear, > 8× as long as wide); leaf blades conspicuously revolute or involute; glands green or dark purple.
                   10 Main stem not branching at base, erect or ascending, usually densely pubescent, dark grey or green; leaves not succulent, revolute, petiolate; stipules obsolete; glands green or rarely purple; petaloid appendages entire; [e. and c. GA (or e. SC?) south and west to Panhandle FL and e. TX]
                   10 Main stem branching at base, ascending or spreading, glabrous, green or greenish purple; leaves succulent, involute, sessile or short petiole; stipules present and glandular; glands purple; petaloid appendages deeply crenate; [c. and s. peninsular FL]
        5 Petaloid appendages 0.05-0.6 mm long (measured along a radius), shorter than wide, green, red, white, or pink; stems (0.8-) 1.5-4.5 (-6) dm tall, erect, ascending or decumbent; leaves ciliate-margined (E. mercurialina and E. curtisii) or not.
                     11 Leaf margins ciliate; cyathia 3.5-5.9 mm wide (across the appendages), green; leaves not fleshy, 1.7-2.2 (-3)× as long as wide, not especially variable; [of mesic forests with rich soils]
                     11 Leaf margins not ciliate (except some marginal hairs in E. curtisii); cyathia 2.0-3.4 mm wide (across the appendages), green or maroon; leaves slightly to strongly fleshy, 0.7-20× as long as wide, often very variable in shape, even on the same plant; [of more or less xeric sandhill woodlands with acidic, sandy soils].
                       12 Stems usually 10-18 per crown, decumbent to weakly ascending; leaves opposite (scales on the lower stem sometimes alternate), fleshy, blue-green with a narrow, thickened, red-hyaline margin; branching dichotomous from the base of the plant (the branches typically equal, though sometimes unequal)
                       12 Stems 1-4 (-9) per crown, erect to strongly ascending; leaves alternate, opposite, or in whorls of 3 (at least some alternate on a plant), less fleshy, green to blue-green, without a red margin (or with a very narrow, slightly red-hyaline, but not thickened margin in E. exserta); branching alternate below the inflorescence (rarely dichotomous or trichotomous), the branches typically unequal.
                          13 Cyathia and capsules green; petaloid appendages white or pink; leaves thin-textured, green, finely pubescent with appressed white hairs (0.1-0.3 mm long) on the lower surface and margins (visible at 10× or greater); branching primarily alternate; leaves primarily alternate (typically opposite or 3-whorled below the inflorescence); cyathia unisexual, plants usually unisexual (dioecious)
                          13 Cyathia and capsules maroon; petaloid appendages maroon-red; leaves slightly fleshy, somewhat blue-green, glabrous; branching primarily opposite; leaves primarily opposite (usually some alternate on upper branches); cyathia bisexual, plants bisexual
Cite as...