Compilation
Oplotheca floridana

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Name

Identification
Froelichia floridana Moq. [family AMARANTHACEAE ] (stored under name); Verified by Not on sheet, Isotype of Oplotheca floridana Nutt. [family AMARANTHACEAE ] Verified by Not on sheet,
Related name
  • Froelichia gracilis
  • Froelichia floridana
  • Oplotheca floridana
Common name
  • plains snake-cotton, Flora of North America Vol. 4
  • Florida snake-cotton, Flora of North America Vol. 4

Flora

Entry for Froelichia floridana (Nuttall) Moquin-Tandon [family ]
Herbarium
Flora of North America (FNA)
Collection
Flora of North America
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of North America, Vol 4,
Names
Froelichia floridana (Nuttall) Moquin-Tandon [family ], in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr., 13(2): 420. 1849
Oplotheca floridana Nuttall [family ], Gen. N. Amer. Pl., 2: 79. 1818
Froelichia campestris Small [family ]
Froelichia floridana var. campestris (Small) Fernald [family ]
Froelichia floridana var. pallescens Moquin-Tandon [family ]
Treatment Author(s)
Ross A. McCauley
Information
Plants annual; taproots semi-woody. Stems 1, erect or ascend-ing, sometimes procumbent, simple or sparsely branched (rarely much-branched) from base or above, stout, to 18 dm, puberulent or tomentulose with short, viscid, whitish or brownish hairs. Leaves principally on proximal 1/3 of plant, petiolate; blade lanceolate to oblanceolate, oblong, or linear, largest leaves 3.8–11.2(–21) × 0.5–3.8(–4.2) cm, base attenuate to cuneate, apex acute to obtuse, canescent to subscabrous adaxially, sericeous-tomentose abaxially. Spikes dense, much-branched, apex often pyramidal, flowers arranged in 5-ranked spiral; bracteoles stramineous or blackish, pubescent with small tufts distally. Flowers 4–6 mm; perianth lobes, greenish white to pinkish, oblong, apex acute; filament lobes slightly to greatly recurved distally, stramineous to pinkish, apex acute. Utricles flask-shaped, 5 × 4–5 mm, with irregularly dentate lateral wings, both surfaces of perianth with distinct spines or tubercles. 2n = 58 + 2.
Phenology
jun-aug (summer)
Distribution
West Indiesintroduced in Australia.USA Ala.USA Ark.USA Colo.USA Fla.USA Ga.USA Ill.USA Ind.USA IowaUSA Kans.USA Ky.USA La.USA Md.USA Mich.USA Minn.USA Miss.USA Nebr.USA N.C.USA N.Dak.USA OhioUSA Okla.USA S.C.USA S.Dak.USA Tex.USA Wis.
Discussion
Froelichia floridana ranges from broad-leaved stout herbs surpassing 1 meter in height to much-branched plants forming bushes to 2 meters in diameter and single-stemmed, erect herbs 1 dm in height. Much of the variation in the species has been difficult to ascribe to either geographic or ecologic differences and reflects inherent genetic variability and wide environmentally induced plasticity. Although specialists and taxonomists have implied the existence of well-delineated morphologic taxa with a strong geographic correspondence, this is not always true, and, in fact, one encounters typical specimens of any given variety sporadically throughout the range of the species.
Some variability in Froelichia floridana is clearly attributable to geography, principally in terms of general morphologic trends. There is a cline toward long, narrow, almost linear leaves as one moves east along the Gulf Coast and into Florida. This would culminate in the little-known var. pallescens Moquin-Tandon, a linear-leaved form (leaf length more than eight times width) from peninsular Florida. Additional variation ascribable to geography is observed in plants traditionally included in F. drummondii, these being large, stout plants with broader leaves, more obtuse leaf apices, and more densely fulvous pubescence on the abaxial surfaces of leaves. Plants of this form are generally restricted south of the Brazos River and continue to the southern extent of the range in Kenedy County, Texas. Further work examining this variation using micromorphology or molecular markers may elucidate a reliable means to identify intraspecific taxa within F. floridana.

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