Tetracoccus hallii
| Tetracoccus hallii | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Picrodendraceae |
| Genus: | Tetracoccus |
| Species: | T. hallii |
| Binomial name | |
| Tetracoccus hallii Brandeg. | |
Tetracoccus hallii is a species of flowering shrub in the family Picrodendraceae, known by the common names Hall's shrubby-spurge[1] and Hall's tetracoccus. It is native to the deserts around the intersection of California, Nevada, and Arizona in the United States and Baja California, Mexico.[2] It grows in many types of desert habitat. It is abundant and widespread in Joshua Tree National Park in California.[3] It is a bushy, branching shrub, hairless in texture except for the new twigs, which have rough hairs. The small leaves occur in clusters along the branches, each leathery, teardrop-shaped leaf measuring just a few millimeters long. The plant is dioecious, with male and female individuals producing different types of flowers. The staminate flowers occur in clusters, each flower with 4 to 6 rounded sepals and 4 to 8 erect stamens. The pistillate flower occurs singly and produces a rounded, woolly fruit with usually three chambers. The fruit is around a centimeter long when mature and contains one or two seeds per chamber.
References
- ↑ "Tetracoccus hallii". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ↑ Tetracoccus hallii. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).
- ↑ Miriti, M. N. (2007). Twenty years of changes in spatial association and community structure among desert perennials. Ecology 88:5 1177-90.