Euphorbia schizoloba
Encyclopedia
Euphorbia schizoloba is a species of euphorb known by the common name Mojave spurge. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in desert hills and mountains. It is a perennial herb producing upright stems up to 40 centimeters tall, sometimes with coats of sparse hairs. The stems are lined with alternately arranged leaves which are oval with pointed tips and measure up to 2 centimeters in length. The inflorescence
is a cyathium
with bell-shaped bract
s surrounding four tiny glands with flat, fringed appendages. At the center of this arrangement are several staminate flowers
and one long pistillate flower
.
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a cyathium
Cyathium
A cyathium is one of the specialised pseudanthia forming the inflorescence of plants in the genus Euphorbia . A cyathium consists of:...
with bell-shaped bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s surrounding four tiny glands with flat, fringed appendages. At the center of this arrangement are several staminate flowers
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
and one long pistillate flower
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...
.