Common name: Bottle-tree Spurge
Euphorbia stevenii F.M.Bailey APNI*
Description: Herbaceous shrub 20–60 cm high, branching with erect, fleshy stems 5–9 mm diam., slightly swollen in lower parts.
Leaves with lamina oblong-oblanceolate, to 30 mm long and 6 mm wide, length:width ratio 5.5:1, apex obtuse, margins toothed; petiole 2–7 mm long; stipules minute.
Cyathia mostly terminal and axillary in upper branches on peduncles c. 0.5 mm long; involucre c. 1.5 mm long, glands red without appendages; male flowers 4 or 5 in each cluster.
Capsule almost globose, c. 5 mm long; seeds ovoid, c. 3 mm long, minutely warty, white, turning dark grey or brownish; caruncle absent. Sandy or clay-loam soils; seeds often found germinating on flood plains after rain. Suspected of being toxic to stock.
Distribution and occurrence:
NSW subdivisions: NFWP
Other Australian states: Qld S.A. N.T.
Text by T. A. James & G. J. Harden Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 1 (1990)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data ***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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