WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

Woolly, star-shaped hairs cover the stem, leaves, and flowers of this 1–3-foot tall plant with slender, open branches. The inconspicuous male and female flowers grow on different plants (with occasional exceptions). Note the single stem with widely-spaced, narrow, densely hairy leaves. Favoring dry sandy flats and hills, Croton has a long history of medicinal uses.

FLOWERS: June–September. Woolly, pea-sized, clusters with petals absent; male plants with 5–20 stamens extending beyond cup-shaped sepals. Female flowers produce three-lobed, bb-sized capsules.

LEAVES: Alternate, evenly spaced on stems. Blades gray-green, variable in shape, linear to lance-shaped, oblong to oval, 1/2–3 1/2-inches long (12–90 mm), margins entire; surfaces, especially undersides, covered with star-shaped hairs (use lens).

HABITAT: Dry sandy, gravelly soils, dunes, arroyos, roadsides; prairies, desert scrub, pinyon-juniper.

ELEVATION: 3,000–7,500 feet.

RANGE: AL to AZ, north to SD, WI.

SIMILAR SPECIES: 7 species of Croton in NM, many similar. The perennials Leatherweed, C. pottsii, in southern and eastern NM, has a watery latex sap, egg-shaped leaves, and male and female flowers on  the same spike. Grassland Croton, C. dioicus, in much the same range, has linear to lance-shaped leaves and male and female flowers on separate plants.

NM COUNTIES: Nearly statewide in low- to mid-elevations, arid habitats: Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Cibola, Curry, Dona Ana,  Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Harding, Hidalgo, Lea, Los Alamos, Luna, McKinley, Otero, Quay, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Sierra, Socorro, Taos, Union, Valencia.