Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Malpighiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Phyllanthus caroliniensis
FAMILY
Phyllanthaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Carolina Leaf-flower at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Phyllanthus caroliniensis ssp. caroliniensis
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Phyllanthus caroliniensis ssp. caroliniensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12 (2016)
Phyllanthus caroliniensis ssp. caroliniensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Phyllanthus caroliniensis ssp. caroliniensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Phyllanthus caroliniensis var. caroliniensis
INCLUDED WITHIN (ORTHOGRAPHIC ERROR) Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Phyllanthus carolinensis
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 107-10-001:
Phyllanthus caroliniensis FAMILY Euphorbiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phyllanthus caroliniensis
COMMON NAME:
Carolina Leaf-flower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm220906_9699
September Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220906_9702
September Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220906_9706
September Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Leaves uniformly distributed on stem and branches, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
JK Marlow jkm220906_9707
September Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220906_9708
September Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Leaf venation clearly visible on the lower surface (vs. obscure on P. saxicola), per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_p_caroliniensis3
October Moore County NC
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_p_caroliniensis3b
October Moore County NC
Flowers produced on ultimate and penultimate orders of branches, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_p_caroliniensis3c
October Moore County NC
Stems terete; branches not deciduous; leaves arranged distichously, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Phyllanthus caroliniensis
FAMILY
Phyllanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Phyllanthus caroliniensis ssp. caroliniensis
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Phyllanthus caroliniensis ssp. caroliniensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12
Phyllanthus caroliniensis ssp. caroliniensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Phyllanthus caroliniensis ssp. caroliniensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Phyllanthus caroliniensis var. caroliniensis
INCLUDED WITHIN (ORTHOGRAPHIC ERROR)
Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Phyllanthus carolinensis
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 107-10-001:
Phyllanthus caroliniensis
FAMILY
Euphorbiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phyllanthus caroliniensis
4249
Forb
Annual
Monoecious
Habitat: Roadsides, moist woodlands, forests, and fields, often in seasonally wet, muddy places, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Does not have milky sap
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, 2-ranked (leaves all well-developed)
Leaves are subtended by stipules.
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Not rhizomatous
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
yellowish-green or green
(5)6(7) sepals
Petals absent
3 stamens in staminate flowers
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall?
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".