(Last Modified On 3/20/2013)
|
|
(Last Modified On 3/20/2013)
|
Species
|
Euphorbia oerstediana (Kl. & Gke.) Boiss.
|
PlaceOfPublication
|
DC., Prodr. 15(2): 59, 1862.
|
Synonym
|
Poinsettia oerstediana Ki. & Gke., Monatsb. Akad. Berlin 1859: 253, 1859.
|
Description
|
Herb, stems terete, glabrous except at tips, not fully articulate, sparingly branched, erect to 9 inches. Leaves alternate, sometimes opposite near apex of stems; stipules obsolete; petiole ca 1 cm long; blade thin, ovate-lanceolate, 3.5-6 X 1-2 cm, scattered short hairs on each surface, the base obtuse to rounded, the margin entire, the apex obtuse to mucronate. Cyathia in small terminal groups, campanulate, ca 1 mm diam; glands 2, the appendages green, the margins entire, upright or obsolete. Capsule broadly ovoid, ca 3 mm diam, densely pubescent particularly when young; seed ovoid, 2.5 mm long, surface papillate, minutely carunculate.
|
Habit
|
Herb
|
Distribution
|
Central America, West Indies and northern South America. Known from only one collection in Panama, but probably more common than this would in- dicate and simply overlooked since it is a very inconspicuous member of the flora of wooded areas.
|
Specimen
|
HERRARA: rd from La Avena to Pese, Burch et al. 1316 (MO).
|
Note
|
Another species, E. apocynoides, was described by Klotzsch on the basis of material collected by Seemann (in Seemann, Bot. Voy. Herald 99, 1853). The only material seen, a probable type sheet from BM, is not full enough to allow a decision on its identity. The leaves suggest the Mexican E. fulgens Karwinsky, but the single cyathium present is closer to that of the group containing E. oer- stediana and E. lancifolia Schlecht. (Boissier's sect. Dichilium); Klotzsch's de- scription, on the other hand, stresses the articulation of the stems which suggests sect. Alectoroctonum. No sensible disposition can be made of this taxon until more material is available and it is to be hoped that the increased collecting ac- tivity in the Republic will continue to add to our knowledge of this genus.
|
Tag
|
|
Project Name
|
Tag
|
|
|