Mercurialis
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Authority
Britton, Nathaniel L. & Millspaugh, Charles F. 1920. The Bahama Flora.
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Family
Euphorbiaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Description - Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, the leaves opposite, often dentate. Inflorescence mostly dioecious, the male in more or less elongate spikes or racemes. Flowers apetalous. Male flowers: calyx membranous, sepals 3, valvate; stamens 8-20; filaments distinct; anthers subglobose, opening lengthwise. Female flowers: sepals 3; ovary 2-celled; stylos 2, distinct or nearly so; stigmas entire. Capsule generally 2-carpelled; seeds solitary in each carpel; testa smooth or tuberculate. [The herb of Mercury.] About 7 species, natives of the Old World, the following typical.