''Euphorbia nutans'' is a species of ''

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

'' known by the common names eyebane and nodding spurge. It is native to much of the

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 ...

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/ Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrado ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, the Caribbean, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. It is reportedly naturalized in parts of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

as well as in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, Japan, and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> It has also been introduced to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

.Calflora: Euphorbia nutans
/ref> It can be a noxious weed in areas where it has been introduced.USDA Plants Profile
/ref> As a weed it generally occurs on disturbed ground, or in ornamental flower beds.

Description

''Euphorbia nutans'' is an annual herb growing erect with pairs of oblong leaves along its stems. The leaf may be up to long, hairy or hairless, and finely toothed. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

may be solitary or borne in clusters. Each inflorescence is a

cyathium A cyathium (plural: cyathia) is one of the specialised pseudanthia ("false flowers") forming the inflorescence of plants in the genus ''Euphorbia'' (Euphorbiaceae). A cyathium consists of: * Five (rarely four) bracteoles. These are small, uni ...

, with flat white or red appendages surrounding the actual flowers. At the center of the array of appendages are several

staminate The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

flowers surrounding one

pistillate Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl (botany), whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or m ...

flower. The latter develops into a fruit, which is a capsule about wide.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment (TJM2) of ''Euphorbia nutans''USDA Plants Profile for ''Chamaesyce nutans'' (eyebane)''Chamaesyce nutans'' — UC Photos gallery
nutans Flora of Central America Flora of Mexico Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the United States Flora of Venezuela Flora of California Flora of New Mexico Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Colorado Desert Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Plants described in 1816 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Euphorbia-stub