Euphorbia heterophylla
Common Names: Fire on the mountain[1]; painted euphorbia; catalina[2]; Fiddler's spurge; Mexican fireplant
| Euphorbia heterophylla | |
|---|---|
| |
| Photo from USDA NRCS Plants Database. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida - Dicots |
| Order: | Euphorbiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus: | Euphorbia |
| Species: | E. heterophylla |
| Binomial name | |
| Euphorbia heterophylla L. | |
| |
| Natural range of Euphorbia heterophylla from USDA NRCS Plants Database. | |
Contents
Taxonomic Notes
Synonyms: Poinsettia heterophylla (Linnaeus) Klotzsch & Garcke ex Klotzsch; Poinsettia geniculata Ortega.[3]
Varieties: none.[3]
Description
E. heterophylla is a annual/perennial forb/herb of the Euphorbiaceae family native to North America.[1] It has minute flowers that lack petals within a gland-rimmed and 5-lobed cup. This structure is on top of a leafy stem above white, red, and yellow leaves. Plant overall has milky sap.[4]Leaves can be up to 15mm in length, are with or without hairs and can have both opposite and alternate leaves on the same plant. Leaf shape varies, even on the same plant, from linear, to elliptical, to ovate, to fiddle shaped. Leaf margins are entire, toothed or lobed, even on the same plant.Growth height is often no more than one to two feet tall but can grow to four feet tall. Fruit is a three-sided capsule 3-4 mm long. Seeds are 3mm long and have a surface covered with small bumps.The only easily distinguishable feature between E. heterohylla and E. cyathophora is the mouth of the prominent gland. E. heterophylla"" has a round prominent gland mouth and E. cyathophora has a compressed prominent gland mouth.[5]
Distribution
E. heterophylla is found along the southern United States, from Florida to California, and disjunct in Kentucky. It is also native to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and has been introduced to Hawaii and the Pacific Basin.[1]
Ecology
In traditional chinese medicine, the whole plant of E. heterophylla was utilized to help treat irregular menses.[6]
Habitat
E. heterophylla is largely found in disturbed habitats. [7] It has also been recently found in waste areas in Virginia. [8] It's native habitat is canyons and uplands, though the plant is relatively scarce. [9] This species is also found in thickets, alluvial soils, glades, along railroads, open or rocky woods, and most often found in shady areas.[10] Specimens of this species have been collected from drying loamy sand of roadside, and along fences. [11]
Associated species include Sida rhombifolia, Chamaesyce sp., Boerhavia sp., and Solidago altissima.[11]
Phenology
This species generally flowers all year round.[7]
Seed bank and germination
E. heterophylla was found in the seed bank of an early successional site of a Neotropical dry region in Mexico.[12] It has also been observed to germinate in a wide pH range.[13]Seed dormancy can be broken by temperatures alternating between 75-95 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pollination
E. heterophylla is visited by sweat bees such as Agapostemon splendens (family Halictidae).[14]
Herbivory and toxicology
Seeds of E. heterophylla were found to be eaten by white-tailed deer in trace amounts.[15]
Diseases and parasites
It is a host plant for the false spider mite Brevipalpus californicus.[16]
Conservation, cultivation, and restoration
Euphorbia heterophylla is considered a noxious weed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, and considered a plant pest by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Aquatic Nuisance Species Program. Overall, it is considered to be weedy or invasive throughout the United States and Canada.[1]
Cultural use
Members of this genus can be used as a laxative in small amounts, but an overdose can cause severe poisoning.[17]
Photo Gallery
References and notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 USDA Plant Database
- ↑ Gee, K. L., et al. (1994). White-tailed deer: their foods and management in the cross timbers. Ardmore, OK, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-atlantic states. Working Draft of 21 May 2015. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
- ↑ [[1]] Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Accessed: May 13, 2019
- ↑ Hall D.W. 1985 The Joy of Weeds - Florida's Wildflowers Wild Pointtia. Palmetto 5(1):16
- ↑ Kong, Y. C., et al. (1986). "Fertility regulating agents from traditional Chinese mdedicines." Journal of Ethnopharmacology 15: 1-44.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Weakley, A. S. (2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Herbarium.
- ↑ Carr, L. G. (1940). "Further notes on coastal floral elements in the bogs of Augusta County, Virginia." Rhodora 42(495): 86-93.
- ↑ Knapp, W. M. and D. Estes (2006). "Gratiola brevifolia (Plantaginaceae) new to the flora of Delaware, the Delmarva Peninsula, and the mid-Atlantic." SIDA Contributions to Botany 22(1): 825-829. Gratiola brevifolia (Plantaginaceae) is reported as a rare and native addition to the 1 lora of Delaware, the Delniarva Peninsula, and to the Mid-Atlantic. This species is disjunct approximately 835 km (520 mi) from the closest known poptilatit^n in Burke Co., Georgia,
- ↑ [[2]] NatureServe Explorer. Accessed: May 13, 2019
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2018. Collectors: Loran Anderson States and counties: Florida (Wakulla, Jackson, Liberty, Jefferson, Gulf)
- ↑ Maza-Villalobos, S., et al. (2011). "Successional trends in soil seed banks of abandoned pastures of a Neotropical dry region." Journal of Tropical Ecology 27: 35-49.
- ↑ Sang, W., et al. (2011). "Germination and emergence of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. under changing environmental conditions in China." Plant Species Biology 26: 125-133.
- ↑ Discoverlife.org [3]
- ↑ Watt, P. G., G.L. Miller, and R.J. Robel (1967). "Food Habits of White-tailed Deer in Northeastern Kansas." Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 70(2): 223-240.
- ↑ Childers, C. C., et al. (2003). "Host plants of Brevipalpus californicus, B. obovatus, and B. phoenicis (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) and their potential involvement in the spread of viral diseases vectored by these mites." Experimental & Applied Acarology 30: 29-105.
- ↑ Mueschner, W.C. 1957. Poisonous Plants of the United States. The Macmillan Company, New York.
