Croton coryi

Croizat

Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 69: 446, 457. 1942.

Common names: Cory’s croton
Endemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 12. Treatment on page 213. Mentioned on page 208, 211, 214.

Herbs, annual, 5–10 dm, monoecious. Stems trichotomously branched, mostly densely, grayish white, long stellate-hairy. Leaves sometimes clustered near inflorescences; stipules absent; petiole 1.5–4 cm, glands absent at apex; blade narrowly ovate to elliptic, 3.5–7 × 1.5–3.5 cm, base rounded to subtruncate or subcordate, margins entire, apex acute, both surfaces light olive green, abaxial surface not appearing brown-dotted, no stellate hairs with brown centers, whitish stellate-hispid. Inflorescences bisexual, subspicate racemes, 4–7 cm, staminate flowers 15–25, pistillate flowers 8–15. Pedicels: staminate 0.5–2.5 mm, pistillate 0–3 mm. Staminate flowers: sepals 5, 3 mm, abaxial surface stellate-hairy; petals 5, ligulate, 3–3.5 mm, abaxial surface densely lepidote, scales translucent, petals appearing hyaline; stamens 14–16. Pistillate flowers: sepals 6–8, equal, 7 mm, margins entire, apex straight to slightly incurved, abaxial surface shaggy-tomentose; petals 0 or rudimentary; ovary 3-locular; styles 3, 3–4 mm, 2 times 2-fid, terminal segments 12. Capsules 4.5–5.5 × 4 mm, smooth; columella 3-angled. Seeds 3 × 2 mm, dull.


Phenology: Flowering May–Nov.
Habitat: Grasslands, woodland openings, deep well-drained sands, barrier island dunes, similar habitats inland.
Elevation: 0–50 m.

Discussion

Croton coryi is endemic to the South Texas Sand Sheet of coastal southern Texas (Brooks, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, Starr, and Willacy counties). Despite the marked difference in vegetative indumenta, C. coryi is closely related to C. argyranthemus. The most obvious feature linking them is the silvery lepidote staminate petals.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"connate" is not a number. "distinct" is not a number.

... more about "Croton coryi"
shaggy-tomentose +, lepidote +, stellate-hairy +  and stellate-hispid +
straight +
Benjamin W. van Ee +  and Paul E. Berry +
Croizat +
rounded +  and subtruncate or subcordate +
3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
narrowly ovate;elliptic +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br /> (0.55 cm5.5 mm <br />0.0055 m <br />) +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (?) +
Cory’s croton +
0–50 m. +
pistillate +  and staminate +
subtending +
Grasslands, woodland openings, deep well-drained sands, barrier island dunes, similar habitats inland. +
brown-dotted +
scale-like +  and stellate +
axillary +  and terminal +
palmate +  and pinnate +
colorless +  and reddish +
deciduous +, semideciduous +  and persistent +
palmate +  and pinnate +
denticulate +  and crenate +
extrastaminal +
pistillate +  and staminate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
list;count;distinct +
rudimentary +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
Flowering May–Nov. +
(1-)3-carpellate +
Bull. Torrey Bot. Club +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (?) +
lenticular +, globose +, ovoid +, oblong +  and ellipsoid +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (?) +
valvate +  and imbricate +
distinct +  and connate +
7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
grayish white +
stellate-hairy +
caducous +, deciduous +  and persistent +
connate +  and distinct +
multifid +  and 2-fid +
2 times 2-fid terminal segments +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (?) +  and 0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (?) +
green +  and light olive +
Croton coryi +
species +
14 +, 10 +, 9 +  and 8 +