Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Malpighiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Euphorbia commutata
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Named as E. commutatus in older references. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The 2022 draft of Weakley's Flora does not recognize varieties, but does discuss them. Var. erecta has all the cauline leaves oblanceolate and with petioles 5-12mm long; var. commutata has leaves varying from oblanceolate to obovate or ovate, the upper leaves usually broad and sessile. Read more by downloading the full PDF.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Euphorbia commutata
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12 (2016)
Euphorbia commutata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 107-11-005:
Euphorbia commutatus FAMILY Euphorbiaceae
INCLUDING Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Euphorbia commutata var. commutata
INCLUDING Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Euphorbia commutata var. erecta
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Galarhoeus austrinus
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Galarhoeus commutatus
COMMON NAME:
Woodland Spurge, Tinted Spurge, Wood Spurge
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_tico3_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm100313_136b
March Gadsden County FL
Angus Gholson Nature Park
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_euphorbia_commutata_2
March
Crescent-shaped yellow glands in involucre give "flowers" their color, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_euphorbia_commutata_9
March
Stem leaves usually pale yellow-green, mostly sessile, shallowly toothed, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Ed Pivorun ebp090404_5021
April Walker County GA
Pigeon Mountain
Leaves of umbel broadly triangular-reniform, tending to be fused together, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm090404_204
April Walker County GA
Pigeon Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm090404_209
April Walker County GA
Pigeon Mountain
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Euphorbia commutata
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Euphorbia commutata
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12
Euphorbia commutata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 107-11-005:
Euphorbia commutatus
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
INCLUDING
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Euphorbia commutata var. commutata
INCLUDING
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Euphorbia commutata var. erecta
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Galarhoeus austrinus
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Galarhoeus commutatus
2930
Forb
Annual
Monoecious
Habitat: Rich forests and rock outcrops, over calcareous or mafic rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon (rare in Coastal Plain, rare in NC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Glands yellowish
Cyathium with 4 glands
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p158
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p194
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p093
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".