Croton sphaerogynus Baillon (1864: 326)

Caruzo, Maria Beatriz Rossi & Cordeiro, Inês, 2013, Taxonomic revision of Croton section Cleodora (Euphorbiaceae), Phytotaxa 121 (1), pp. 1-41 : 18

8. Croton sphaerogynus Baillon (1864: 326) ( Fig. 8F–J ). Type:— BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro : 1835, C.

Gaudichaud-Beaupré 1139 (lectotype P [00634641]!, collection designated by Caruzo & Cordeiro (2007: 583),

specimen designated by Van Ee (2011: 25) , isolectotypes B†, F!, G-DC, P [00634642], P [00634643], P

[ 00634639], P [00634644], P [00634645]; Brasil, Minas Gerais, 1842, P. Claussen 79 (syntype P [00634646]!) ,

s.dat., P. Claussen 2004 (not located).

Croton pachycalyx Müller Argoviensis (1865: 109) Ξ Cleodora sellowiana Klotzsch (1841: 197) . Type:— BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro, 1835, C. Gaudichaud-Beaupré 1139 (neotype P00634641!, designated by Van Ee 2011: 25 ).

Shrubs 1.5–3 m tall; latex clear; stellate, stellate-porrect and appressed-stellate trichomes; branchlets flattened, striate, hirsute, appressed-stellate usually porrects. Leaves distichous, slightly discolorous, with a pair of sessile globose brown basilaminar glands; lamina 4–25 × 2–10 cm, ovate-lanceolate to elliptical, apex acute, base cordate to auriculate, lobes usually overlapping, margin minutely serrate, rarely dentate, with glands, ferrugineous, upper and lower surfaces sparsely hirsute to glabrescent, appressed-stellate trichomes, usually porrect; venation pinnate, brochidodromous; petiole 0.5–3 cm long; stipules 3–5 mm long, entire, linear. Inflorescences 3–25 cm long, terminal, lax, pendant; inflorescence axis flattened, striate, floccose, appressed-stellate trichomes; proximal cymules bisexual, with 1 pistillate flower and ca. 4 staminate flowers, distal cymules with ca. 4 staminate flowers; bracts ca. 4 mm long, lanceolate to linear, prophylls ca. 1 mm long, linear. Staminate flowers ca. 6 mm long, campanulate, pedicellate; pedicels ca. 3 mm long; calyx ca. 2 mm long, pubescent externally, pale, stellate and appressed-stellate trichomes, glabrate internally; calyx lobes 5, united half of their length, then free for ca. 1 mm, entire, equal, valvate, ovate to slightly rhomboidal, apex acute, margin villose; petals ca. 2 mm long, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, apex acute to rounded, revolute, margin villose; disk 5-segmented; stamens ca. 16; filaments subulate, glabrate, anthers globose-ellipsoid; receptacle villose with simple trichomes. Pistillate flowers ca. 5 mm long, flask-shaped, shortly pedicellate, pedicels ca. 1 mm long; calyx ca. 4 mm long, sparsely pubescent externally, glaucous, stellate and appressed-stellate trichomes, glabrate internally; calyx lobes 5, united at the base, then free for ca. 4 mm long, reflexed, entire, equal, quincuncial, fleshy, rhomboidal, apex acute, margin villose; petals absent; disk 5-segmented; ovary globose, covered by stellate and appressed-stellate trichomes, usually porrect; styles 3, 4-fid, united half of their length, then branching into 12 terminal arms, covered by stellate and appressed-stellate trichomes, exserted from calyx. Fruit ca. 7 mm long, globose, smooth, covered by stellate and appressed-stellate trichomes; calyx lobes inconspicuously accrescent; seeds ca. 4 mm long, globose, slightly warty.

Distribution and habitat: — Croton sphaerogynus occurs mainly in Brazilian seashore plains moist forest (“restinga forests”) in the states of Bahia, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and more rarely on the slopes of Serra do Mar up to 800 m elevation.

Phenology:— Flowering in January–March, May, June, August, October–December; fruiting in January– March, June and November.

Taxonomic notes: — Two syntypes of Croton sphaerogynus, Clausen 79 and 2004, are from Minas Gerais. Of these, only Clausen 79 has been found, and it has no collection date to give us the certainty of its origin. No other collection of this species has been found in Minas Gerais, leading us to believe that the locality is mistaken, once Clausen’s collections usually lack informations about collection number and date .

Croton sphaerogynus can be recognized in the field by its distichous leaves covered by a sparsely hirsute indument.

Among other species of Croton section Cleodora , C. sphaerogynus is most similar to C. stellatoferrugineus , however they can be distinguished from each other in several features as already pointed out by Caruzo et al. (2010a), but mainly by its whitish indumentum color and non foliaceous bracts.

Selected specimens examined: — BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro : Rio de Janeiro, Parque Nacional da Tijuca, Alto da Boa Vista, aproximadamente 100 m do mirante da vista Chineza , 400 m, 22°58’24,2’’S e 43°14’59,7’’W, fr., 3 March 2006, M.B.R. Caruzo et al. 88 (SP, WIS) .

Figures

FIGURE 8. A–E. Croton stellatoferrugineus. A. Flowering branch. B. Floral bract, dorsal and ventral views. C. Pistillate flower. D. Gynoecium. E. Seed, dorsal view; A–E. (Cordeiro et al. 303). F–J. Croton sphaerogynus. F. Flowering branch. G. Floral bract, dorsal view. H. Pistillate flower. I. Gynoecium. J. Seed, dorsal view; F–J. (Caruzo & Lima 121; illustration from Caruzo et al. 2010a).