Croton glandulosus
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''Croton glandulosus'' is a species of plant in the family
Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...
that has many common names such as vente conmigo, tooth-leaved croton, tropic croton and sand croton. The species's specific epithet, ''glandulosus'', is due to the gland-like structures that appear at the end of the leaf stalk. ''C. glandulosus'' and various other species are found to be common
weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
s in gardens, crops, and lawns. This species in particular is highly problematic in crops such as cotton and peanuts in the Southeastern United States.


Morphology

''C. glandulosus'' is a weedy summer
annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...
herbaceous plant, growing from 4 to 24 inches in height. It is characterized by a pungently fragrant
tap root A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...
from which its stem grows, and also by stellate hairs and glands on its stem and leaves. The leaves are alternate and oval-shaped when young, but as they mature, they become more lance-shaped and elliptical. The edges of the leaves are serrated or toothed, which makes this species easy to identify. The leaves are located on small petioles, and have a white, oval-like gland on either side of the petiole as the it meets the stem. The leaves of the plant are whorled and they occur below the flowers. The greater and lesser surface of the leaf has small stellate hairs, and when the leaf is crushed, it gives off a unique odor. Typically, the flowering season for the tropic croton is from July to October. It has white terminal flowers which are 4 or 5-parted, monoecious, and occur in
racemose A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
clusters at the ends of the plant's stems. Female flowers tend to have 4
sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...
s with 4 petals while males only have 5 sepals and no petals. The plant fruits from August to October and the fruit has a brown capsule of three chambers, having three seeds that are shiny, grayish-tan, stippled with black, and oval-shaped. The
seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embryo ...
stems underneath the
cotyledon A cotyledon (; ; ; , gen. (), ) is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a germinating seed." The num ...
s, which are mostly cased with hairs that give off a star-shaped look. The cotyledons tend to be 5 to 7 mm long by 7 to 10 mm wide, dense, heart-shaped, and have palmate venation. Additionally, the first true leaves that emerge are toothed and egg-shaped.


Look-alikes

Tropic croton can easily be confused with '' Eclipta prostrata'' because of its similar appearance and structure. However, the leaves of '' Eclipta prostrata'' are more linear and arranged oppositely, whereas the leaves on the tropic croton are arranged alternately. The tropic croton can also be confused with '' Sida spinosa'' in terms of its growth patterns and appearance, but ''Sida spinosa'' lacks the disc-like glands that appear above and below the petiole, and the stellate pubescent hairs that are characteristic of tropic crotons. The seeds and flowers of ''Sida spinosa'' are also very different from the tropic croton due to both plants being in different families.


Habitat and weed status

Tropic croton can be typically found in dry or sandy soil, fields, pastures, river terraces, cultivated fields, waste grounds, and along roadsides and railroads.


Distribution

''Croton glandulosus'' can be found throughout the Southeastern
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
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, and in some parts of
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
. It is native to the south-central U.S. and is mostly prevalent in the
coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...
and Piedmont in
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,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
,
South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
,
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
,
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
,
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
, and
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. It has even spread to regions as far north as
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
and
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
. Much of its southeastern U.S. range is considered non-native or potentially non-native. This plant is becoming problematic for many
agronomic Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that spe ...
crops such as corn,
soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu a ...
s,
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
, and many others in southeast Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia.


As a weed

The increasing prevalence of tropic croton in the Southeastern United States has had a negative effect on the growth of many
crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydropon ...
s. Although limited research has been conducted to study the competitiveness of tropic croton, multiple studies have shown the troublesome nature of this plant. Research illustrated that tropic croton is the third most problematic weed in
peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...
s and the fifth most troublesome weed in
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
. Possible reasons for its increasing prevalence and competitiveness are its ability to effectively release multiple mature seeds, which are quickly consumed by birds and thus are easily dispersed. Also, multiple herbicides that are used in cotton and peanuts are less effective on tropic croton, which further increases its occurrence.http://www.caes.uga.edu/applications/publications/files/pdf/C%20865_3.PDF


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3004373 glandulosus Plants described in 1759 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus