''Croton californicus'' is a species of
croton known by the common name California croton. This plant is native to
California,
Nevada,
Utah,
Arizona, and
Baja California, where it grows in the deserts and along the coastline.
This plant is a perennial or small shrub not exceeding a meter in height. The plant produces long oval-shaped leaves a few centimeters long and covered in a light-colored coat of hairs.
This species is
dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
, with individual plants bearing either male (staminate) or female (pistillate) flowers, both only a few millimeters across. The
staminate flowers are tiny cups filled with thready yellowish stamens and the
pistillate flowers are the rounded, lobed immature fruits surrounded by tiny pointed
sepals.
References
* Welsh, et al. ''A Utah Flora'', 3rd ed. (Brigham Young University, 2003), p. 312
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment — ''Croton californicus''USDA Plants Profile: ''Croton californicus''''Croton californicus'' Photo gallery
californicus
Flora of California
Flora of Baja California
Flora of Nevada
Flora of Utah
Flora of the California desert regions
Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
Flora of the Great Basin
Natural history of the Mojave Desert
Dioecious plants
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
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