Woolly croton

Click for greater clarity.

Here’s yet another native plant making its first appearance in these pages, Croton capitatus var. lindheimeri, whose fuzzy appearance tells you why it’s known as woolly croton. Like snow-on-the-mountain, snow-on-the-prairie, fire-on-the-mountain, and various other members of the Euphorbia family, this species has small and rather unshowy flowers, a few of which you see on the left side of the photograph. The one closest to the center of the picture, with a bit of pale orange color, is female, and the others, with their pollen-bearing anthers, are male. To the right of the flowers, larger, are some seed capsules that seem to have reached their full size.

I took this picture on October 11 at Southeast Metropolitan Park. To see the places in the south-central and southeastern United States where this species grows, you can consult the state-clickable map at the USDA website.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman