Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Malpighiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Euphorbia pubentissima
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about False Flowering Spurge at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Euphorbia pubentissima
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
INCLUDING VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 107-11-013b:
Euphorbia corollata var. zinniiflora FAMILY Euphorbiaceae
INCLUDING & INCLUDED WITHIN Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)
Euphorbia corollata var. corollata
INCLUDED WITHIN Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Euphorbia corollata
INCLUDING Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Euphorbia apocynifolia
INCLUDING Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Euphorbia zinniiflora
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Tithymalopsis apocynifolia
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Tithymalopsis paniculata
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Tithymalopsis zinniiflora
COMMON NAME:
False Flowering Spurge, Southeastern Flowering Spurge, Southern Flowering Spurge
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm0404zc_32
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0305w_07
May Buncombe County NC
NC Arboretum
)
JK Marlow jkm120506_617
May Oconee County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm140614_973
June Oconee County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm180623_2963
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Leaves usually reflexed, thin, petiolate or subpetiolate, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmepubentissima_cabinb
June Clarendon County SC
What appears to be a flower is actually a structure called a cyathium, per Book of Field and Roadside (Eastman, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm140822_910913
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
The inflorescences appearing dichasial, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
Flowering Spurge and False Flowering Spurge
)
JK Marlow jkm140822_910913b
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Male flowers surround each (female) pistil, producing sticky pollen masses, per Book of Field and Roadside (Eastman, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm140822_910913c
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Pistillate stalk enlarges as it ages; male flowers last only 2-5 days, per Book of Field and Roadside (Eastman, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm140822_910913d
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Spurge fruits are 3-chambered capsules, audibly explosive when mature, per Book of Field and Roadside (Eastman, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm180814_3803
August McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
Some botanists believe that E. apocynifolia is a valid but overlooked species.
)
JK Marlow jkm180814_3813
August McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
E. apocynifolia has oval to ovate leaves, short stature, small cyathia, etc, per A New Species of Euphorbia subgenus Chamaesyce from Mississippi (Fennell, 2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm180814_3816
August McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
E. apocynifolia is currently considered to be included within E. pubentissima.
)
JK Marlow jkm200808_6966
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Nodes below inflorescence (6)15-26(41), per Weakley's Flora (2020).
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JK Marlow jkm210807_2525
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm210807_2532
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm210807_2571
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm151030_644
October Greenville County SC
Blue Wall Preserve
Seed capules shoot their contents outward with great force, up to 15' away, per Book of Field and Roadside (Eastman, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm211027_4599
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Euphorbia pubentissima
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Euphorbia pubentissima
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
INCLUDING
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 107-11-013b:
Euphorbia corollata var. zinniiflora
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
INCLUDING & INCLUDED WITHIN
Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)
Euphorbia corollata var. corollata
INCLUDED WITHIN
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Euphorbia corollata
INCLUDING
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Euphorbia apocynifolia
INCLUDING
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Euphorbia zinniiflora
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Tithymalopsis apocynifolia
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Tithymalopsis paniculata
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Tithymalopsis zinniiflora
564
Forb
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Dry woodlands, sandbars, cobblebars, rock outcrops, longleaf pine sandhills, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, opposite, or whorled
Leaves sessile, or petioles to 1mm long
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Petaloid appendages of glands white, greenish
or pinkish
Unisexual
Cyathium with 5 glands (or 7-10)
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p072
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p100?
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p202?
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p119
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p047?
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p180
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p158?
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p195?
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p092?
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p053