Phyllanthus fraternus

G. L. Webster

Contr. Gray Herb. 176: 53. 1955.

Common names: Gulf leafflower
Introduced
Basionym: Phyllanthus niruri var. scabrellus Müller Arg. Linnaea 32: 43. 1863
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 12. Treatment on page 342. Mentioned on page 337.

Herbs, annual, monoecious, 1–4 dm; branching phyllanthoid. Stems: main-stems angled, not winged, glabrous; ultimate branchlets subterete, narrowly winged, ± scabridulous. Leaves on main-stems spiral, scalelike; stipules not auriculate, pale green to nearly white. Leaves on ultimate branchlets distichous, well developed; stipules not auriculate, pale green to nearly white; blade elliptic-oblong, 6–11 × 3–5 mm, base cuneate to obtuse, apex rounded, both surfaces glabrous. Inflorescences cymules or flowers solitary, unisexual, proximal with 2–3 staminate flowers, distal with 1 pistillate flower. Pedicels: staminate 0.2–0.5 mm, pistillate spreading in fruit, 1.3–2 mm. Staminate flowers: sepals 6, white to pale-yellow, flat, 0.4–0.7 mm; nectary extrastaminal, 6 glands; stamens 3, filaments connate throughout. Pistillate flowers: sepals 6, green with broad white margins, flat, (1–) 1.2–1.5 mm, 1-veined; nectary annular, 6–9-lobed. Capsules 2.1 mm diam., smooth. Seeds uniformly brown, 0.9–1.1 mm, longitudinally ribbed.


Phenology: Flowering and fruiting year-round.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, gardens, other disturbed areas.
Elevation: 0–30 m.

Distribution

V12 656-distribution-map.jpg

Introduced; Fla., Ga., La., Miss., S.C., Tex., s Asia (India), s Asia (Pakistan), also in West Indies, Bermuda, w Asia, Africa, Indian Ocean Islands

Discussion

Phyllanthus fraternus, native to Pakistan and northwest India, apparently was introduced into the United States in the 1950s, first in Louisiana, and has spread mainly along the Gulf Coast.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"elongating" is not a number."connate" is not a number."/2" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Phyllanthus fraternus"
connate +
rounded +
Geoffrey A. Levin +
G. L. Webster +
cuneate;obtuse +
Phyllanthus niruri var. scabrellus +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (1.1 cm11 mm <br />0.011 m <br />) +
elliptic-oblong +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
2.1 cm21 mm <br />0.021 m <br /> (?) +
Gulf leafflower +
Fla. +, Ga. +, La. +, Miss. +, S.C. +, Tex. +, s Asia (India) +, s Asia (Pakistan) +, also in West Indies +, Bermuda +, w Asia +, Africa +  and Indian Ocean Islands +
0–30 m. +
pistillate +  and staminate +
distinct +
Fields, roadsides, gardens, other disturbed areas. +
not branching +  and simple +
paniclelike +  and racemelike +
deciduous +  and persistent +
scale-like +
extrastaminal +
6-9-lobed +  and annular +
pistillate +  and staminate +
0.13 cm1.3 mm <br />0.0013 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
distinct +
Flowering and fruiting year-round. +
3(-4)-carpellate +
Contr. Gray Herb. +
smooth +  and ribbed +
papillate +  and verrucose +
rounded-trigonous +
0.09 cm0.9 mm <br />9.0e-4 m <br /> (?) +  and 0.11 cm1.1 mm <br />0.0011 m <br /> (?) +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br />) +
green;white;pale-yellow +
persistent +
0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
Introduced +
free +, connate +  and distinct +
erect;prostrate +
pale green +  and nearly white +
not auriculate +
connate +  and distinct +
Reverchonia +
Phyllanthus fraternus +
Phyllanthus +
species +
hairy +  and glabrous +
13 +, 9 +  and 8 +