Croton tricolor Klotzsch ex Baillon (1864: 291)

Rossine, Yuri, Melo, André Laurênio De, Athiê-Souza, Sarah Maria & Sales, Margareth Ferreira De, 2023, Understanding the “ Marmeleiros ”: a taxonomic treatment of Croton sect. Lasiogyne (Euphorbiaceae) in Brazil, Phytotaxa 584 (4), pp. 219-250 : 242-243

11. Croton tricolor Klotzsch ex Baillon (1864: 291) .

— Oxydectes tricolor (Klotzsch ex Baillon) Kuntze (1891: 613) .

Lectotype (first step designated by Gomes et al. [2010a: 907], second step designated by van Ee [2011: 31]):— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: without locality, without date, A.F.C.P. de Saint-Hilaire, cat C 1, n. 92 ( P [ P00634797 !]; isolectotypes: A [ A00303790 !, A00303791 !], F [ F0077753F !], P [ P00634794 !, P00634795 !]) . Fig. 8 (g–k), 9 (b)

Croton argyrophylloides M̧ller Argoviensis (1865: 96) .— Oxydectes argyrophylloides (M̧ller Argoviensis) Kuntze (1891: 611) . Lectotype (designated by Rossine et al. 2021):— BRAZIL. Bahia: “ secus Rio Francisco ”, 1838, J.S. Blanchet 2835 (G [G00434466!]; isolectotypes: BR [BR0000008526595!], C [C 10011157!], F [F0BN005054!], G [G00311380!], P [P00634797!, P00634798!]).

Croton tricolor M ̧ller Argoviensis (1865: 96) , nom. illeg. Holotype:— BRAZIL. “ In Brasilia meridional prope Facienda do Funil ”, 1836, Sellow B 2114 , c 2077 (B [ B10 0086878!]; isotypes: BR [ BR0000008553065 !], G [ G00434660 !], P [ P00634796 !]).

Croton rufo-argenteus M̧ller Argoviensis (1873: 135) .— Oxydectes rufoargentea (M̧ll. Arg.) Kuntze (1891: 612) . Lectotype (designated by Rossine et al. 2021):— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: “ Prope Funil ad Rio Paraopeba et ad Rio Macacos ”, 24 April 1866, J.E.B. Warming 1554 (C [C10011192!]; isolectotype: G [G00434621!]).

Description: —Monoecious shrub, 1.5–3 m tall; latex absent; branching monopodial, branches cylindrical, brown to grayish; trichomes lepidote. Leaves alternate, stipules lanceolate to auriculate, 0.8–1 × 0.3–0.6 cm, usually persistent, with lepidote trichomes; petiole cylindrical, 0.4–0.7 cm long, with lepidote trichomes; leaf blade chartaceous, lanceolate, elliptic to long elliptic, rarely ovate, 2–11 × 0.5–3 cm, strongly bifacial, adaxial face green to dark green with stellate and stellate-lepidote trichomes to glabrescent, abaxial surface shiny, silver to ferruginous, with lepidote trichomes, base rounded to cordate, margins entire, apex acute to obtuse, venation eucamptodromous, with 8–14 secondary veins. Thyrses 1–30 cm long, terminal, with lepidote trichomes, peduncle 0.3–1.0 cm long; cymules unisexual, lax, up to 3 staminate flowers, pistillate flowers solitary; bracts linear to lanceolate, 1–2 × 0.2–0.5 mm, deciduous, margins entire, apex acute, with stellate trichomes. Staminate flower with pedicels ca. 3 mm long; sepals silvery to ferruginous, united for ⅓ of their length, lobes oval, 2 × 1 mm, margins entire, apex acute, with lepidote trichomes externally, stellate internally; petals silver to ferruginous, lanceolate, 2 × 0.6 mm, margins entire, apex acute, with trichomes lepidote, stellate internally; stamens 10–15, filament 1–2 mm long, anther elliptic, 0.4–0.7 × 0.3 mm; nectary disk 5-lobed, apex of lobes rounded, with stellate-lepidote trichomes. Pistillate flower with pedicels 2–3 mm long; sepals silver to ferruginous, united for up to ⅓ of their length, lobes ovate to oblong, equal in size, 2–4 × 1 mm, reduplicated vertically, margins entire, apex acute to rounded, with lepidote trichomes externally, glabrous internally; petals absent; ovary long ellipsoid to ovoid, 2–3.5 × 1.5–2, with lepidote trichomes; styles patent, free, multipartite, up to 24 stigmatic tips, with stellate trichomes; nectary disk 5-lobed, apex of lobes rounded, with stellate trichomes. Capsule green silvery to ferruginous, ovoid to subspheroid, 5–7 × 3–4 mm, 3-lobed, surface non-muricate, with lepidote trichomes; columella up to 4 mm long, striated, apex flattened. Seed brown to greyish, with reddish to black spots, ellipsoid, 3.5 × 2 mm, papillose rugose, caruncle elliptic.

Vernacular names: —Alecrim de vaqueiro, folha de prata, capixigui-mirim.

Distribution and habitat, conservation status and phenology: — Croton tricolor occurs in Colombia, Brazil, and Venezuela ( Gomes 2006, Luján et al. 2015), being most widely distributed in Brazil, occurring from northern Ceará to Paraná (Caruzo et al. 2022) ( Fig. 9 , b). It can be found in the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest domains, reaching transition areas between those and the Cerrado. It is found in clayey soils, and mainly in montane forests, less frequently in anthropized areas such as roadsides. Besides its AOO (ca. 770 km 2), this species is classified here as of Least Concern (LC), based on its EOO (> 9,600,000 km 2), and populations occurring in several protected areas. Flowering from November to April and fruiting from December to May.

Notes: — Croton tricolor can be easily recognized by its monopodial branching, in addition to its lanceolate to auriculate stipules, ovate to oblong sepals of the pistillate flower, and papillose rugose seed surface. Croton tricolor can be confused with C. limae and C. suassunae . Their distinguishing characters are cited in the notes concerning C. limae and C. suassunae .

Representative specimens: — BRAZIL. Alagoas: Arapiraca , Serra das Mangabeiras, 9º75’55” S, 36º66’39” W, 31 May 2008, L. L. M . Barbosa 23 (MAC). Bahia: Abaíra , without further locality, 13º31’66”67 S, 41º86’66” W, 5 February 1994, W . Ganev 2968 ( HUEFS) . Ceará: Crato, Chapada do Araripe , 11 January 1989, A . Fernandes & J. F . Matos s.n. ( EAC15883 ) . Espírito Santo: Linhares , without further locality, 4 January 2017, D. A . Folli 7526 ( CVRD) . Minas Gerais: Igarapé, Próximo a Serra do Itatiaiçu , 20 December 1999, A . Salino 5010 ( SP) . Paraíba: Maturéia, topo do Pico do Jabre , 7º25’31” S, 37º38’46” W, 5 May 2010, D. Araújo 1553 ( HVASF) . Paraná: Querênia do Norte , RPPN Santa Mariana , 22º92’59” S, 53º45’41” W, 19 January 2011, G. O. Landgraf 122 ( HUEM). Pernambuco: Exu, Chapada do Araripe , 7º73’33” S, 40º23’33” W, 16 February 1984, G . Fotius 3783 ( HUEFS) . Rio Grande do Norte: Martins, Sitio do Sr. Clesinho , 29 April 2012, J. G . Jardim 6208 ( HURB). S „ o Paulo: Teodoro Sampaio , 21 February 2005, M. B. R . Caruzo & L. R . Mendonça 85 ( SP) . Sergipe: Poço Redondo, Serra da Guia , 9º80’52” S, 37º68’41” W, 3 March 2010, W. J . Machado et al. 216 ( ASE) .

Figures

FIGURE 8. a–f Croton suassunae: a flowering branch (staminate), b flowering branch (pistillate), both a and b showing sympodial ramification, c lanceolate stipules, d staminate flower of ca. 15 stamens, e pistillate flower with sepals slightly reduplicated vertically, spheroid ovary, and ascendant and 2-fid styles, f spheroid fruit, showing sepals internally glabrous.g–k C. tricolor: g flowering branch with monopodial ramification h lanceolate stipules, i staminate flower of ca. 12 stamens, j pistillate flower with sepals strongly reduplicated vertically, glabrous internally, ovoid ovary and, patent and multipartite styles k long ellipsoid to ovoid fruit.

FIGURE 9. Distribution of some species of section Lasiogyne. a Croton limae, C. micans and C. sacaquinha; b C. suassunae and C. tricolor.