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Stillingia spinulosa is a species of flowering plant in the euphorb family known by the common name annual toothleaf.[1] It is native to the Southwestern United States where it occurs in the creosote scrub of the deserts. It is an annual or perennial herb producing a clump of thick, leafy stems approaching a meter in maximum height. The alternately arranged leaves have shiny pointed oval blades 2 to 4 centimeters long and up to 1.2 centimeters wide which are lined with sharp teeth. The inflorescence is a stout spike of flowers 1 to 2 centimeters long. The plant is monoecious, and each spike has several male flowers at the tip and 1 or 2 fruit-bearing female flowers below these. Neither type of flower has petals. The ovary of the female flower develops into a three-lobed greenish capsule about half a centimeter wide. There is a tiny rough-surfaced seed in each of the three chambers of the fruit.
Stillingia spinulosa | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
Genus: | Stillingia |
Species: | S. spinulosa
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Binomial name | |
Stillingia spinulosa |
References
edit- ^ NRCS. "Stillingia spinulosa". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 3 December 2015.