WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

Several somewhat woody stems form a bushy, 8–24-inch tall plant with densely hairy foliage and watery latex sap. Note the stems (petioles) of the mid-stem leaves are up to 1.5 times the length of the blade.

FLOWER: May–September. Flower spikes have male flowers near the top and females at the bottom; male (staminate) flowers have 5 tiny, white petals a little longer than the sepals and 11–15 stamens; female flowers have no petals and 3 styles, each with 2 lobes separated to the base. Fruit is a hairy, rounded, 3-seeded capsule with the 6 conspicuous style lobes extending from the apex.

LEAVES: Alternate. Leaves at mid-stem and lower have stems (petioles) 1/2–1 1/2 times as long as the blades. Blades oblong to elliptic, 3/4–1 1/2-inches long (20–40 mm), margins entire, tips pointed or rounded, surfaces covered with star-shaped, gray-silvery hairs.

HABITAT: Sandy, gravelly soils, rocky hills and slopes, arroyos, roadsides; short grass prairie, desert grasslands and scrub, pinyon-juniper-oak woodlands.

ELEVATION: 3,200–7,600 feet.

RANGE: AZ, NM, TX.

SIMILAR SPECIES: 7 species of Croton in NM, many similar. The perennial Grassland Croton, C. dioicus, in much the same range, has linear to lance-shaped leaves and male and female flowers on separate plants; female flowers have fruit capsules with 10 inconspicuous lobes at the apex.

NM COUNTIES: Southern and eastern NM in low- to mid-elevation, arid habitats: Chaves, Curry, De Baca, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Harding, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, Otero, Quay, Roosevelt, San Miguel, Sierra, Socorro, Valencia.