12. Croton glandulosus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 2, 1275. 1759. (as glandulosum).
Sand or tooth-leaved or tropic croton, vente conmigo Sand or tooth-leaved or tropic croton, vente conmigo
Decarinium glandulosum (Linnaeus) Rafinesque; Geiseleria glandulosa (Linnaeus) Klotzsch; Oxydectes glandulosa (Linnaeus) Kuntze
Herbs, annual, 1–12 dm, monoecious. Stems much branched distally, usually coarsely stellate-hairy, rarely glabrescent. Leaves not clustered; stipules linear-subulate, glandular or not, to 0.5 mm or absent; petiole 0.2–1 cm, glands at apex 2, yellow, sessile to shortly stipitate, cuplike; blade ovate proximally, oblong-lanceolate distally, 0.6–3.5(–7) × 0.3–1.5(–3) cm, base obtuse to truncate, margins coarsely crenate to serrate-dentate, apex obtuse to rounded, both surfaces green, stellate-hairy, glabrate, or rarely glabrous. Inflorescences bisexual, racemes, 1–3 cm, staminate flowers 10–20, pistillate flowers 1–4. Pedicels: staminate 0.8–2 mm, pistillate 0–5 mm. Staminate flowers: sepals 5, 0.8–1.2 mm, abaxial surface stellate-hairy; petals 5, oblanceolate, 1–1.3 mm, abaxial surface glabrous except margins ciliate; stamens 7–13. Pistillate flowers: sepals 5, subequal, 6–7.5 mm, margins entire, apex straight to slightly incurved, abaxial surface glabrous except stellate-hairy apically; petals 0 or 5, rudimentary; ovary 3-locular; styles 3, 1–2.5 mm, deeply 2-fid, terminal segments 6. Capsules 3.5–6 × 4–5 mm, smooth; columella 3-angled. Seeds 3–4 × 2–2.5 mm, shiny. 2n = 16.
Varieties ca. 20 (5 in the flora): United States, Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America.
Croton glandulosus is widespread in the New World, with a complex pattern of variation. The classification here follows B. W. van Ee et al. (2009).
