Chamaesyce mesembrianthemifolia (Jacq.) Dugand

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Euphorbiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Chamaesyce mesembrianthemifolia (Jacq.) Dugand

  • Description

    Species Description - Perennial erect subshrub to 50 cm tall, glabrous, manybranched from base, the branches sometimes decumbent, reddish with persistent stipules. Leaves ascending, nearly overlapping; blades 5-13 x 2-8 mm, ovate to elliptic, nearly coriaceous, glaucous beneath, the apex obtuse, the base truncate to nearly cordate and slightly oblique, the margins entire; petioles 1 mm long; stipules triangular to ovate, whitish, persistent in leafless stems. Cyathia axillary, solitary, cone-shaped; peduncles to 3 mm long; glands rounded, the appendages white, broadly elliptic, to 0.5 mm long. Pistillate flower exserted; ovary glabrous. Capsule glabrous, 3-lobed, ovoid, ca. 2 mm long. Seeds ovoid, ca. 1.3 mm long, light brown, smooth.

  • Discussion

    Euphorbia buxifolia Lam., Encycl. 2: 421. 1788. Chamaesyce buxifolia (Lam.) Small, Fl. S.E. U.S. 711. 1903.

  • Distribution

    Common along sandy coasts. Ram Head Point (A2916), Fortsberg (A4079), Brown Bay (A1871). Also on Anegada, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Virgin Gorda; the West Indies, Venezuela, and Colombia.

    Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| West Indies| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Anegada Virgin Islands South America|