Croton wigginsii
Encyclopedia
Croton wigginsii is a species of croton
known by the common name Wiggins' croton.
is native to the Sonoran Desert
s of northern Mexico and Arizona
, into the Colorado Desert
in California
where it is an inhabitant of sand dune
s.
, with male plants bearing staminate
flowers with thready stamens and female plants bearing pistillate
flowers composed of the rounded immature fruits.
Croton (genus)
Croton is an extensive flowering plant genus in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, established by Carl Linnaeus in 1737. The plants of this genus were described and introduced to Europeans by Georg Eberhard Rumphius. The common names for this genus are rushfoil and croton, but the latter also...
known by the common name Wiggins' croton.
Distribution
This small gray-green shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
is native to the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
s of northern Mexico and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, into the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where it is an inhabitant of sand dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s.
Description
Croton wigginsii is spreading shrub approaches a meter-3 feet in height. Its sparse foliage is made up of long oval-shaped leaves covered in a coating of white hairs. It is dioeciousPlant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, with male plants bearing staminate
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
flowers with thready stamens and female plants bearing pistillate
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
flowers composed of the rounded immature fruits.