WOOLLY CROTON
File Size: 87 KB
 
Croton capitatus  Michx.
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Annual
Height: 8-36 inches
Family: Euphorbiaceae - Spurge Family
Flowering Period:   July, August, September
Stems: Erect, usually single, often branching above, densely covered with star-shaped hairs.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, stalked, narrowly ovate to lance-elliptic, 1 to 4 inches long, 1/4 to 3/4 inch wide, densely woolly-hairy; bases often rounded; margins entire; tips usually blunt.
Inflorescences: Compact clusters, 1/2 to 1.25 inches long, fuzzy with brownish or purplish hairs, terminal.
Flowers: Male and female flowers on same plant, somewhat inconspicuous; staminate flowers with 5 sepals, 5 petals, stamens 10-14; pistillate flowers with calyces deeply 6- to 9-lobed, lobes oblong to linear; petals absent; styles 3, forked 2-3 times, stigmas 12-24.
Fruits: Capsules, nearly spherical, woolly, usually 3-seeded.
Habitat: Dry prairies, overgrazed pastures, rocky hills, open woodlands, and roadsides, most abundant in sandy or limestone soils.
Distribution: Principally east 1/2 and southwest 1/4 of Kansas.
Toxicity: Woolly croton is toxic to livestock; it rarely is consumed due to its bitter taste.
Uses: The seeds are consumed by wild turkeys.

Woolly croton pistillate flower
85 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Woolly croton
159 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Woolly croton inflorescence and leaves
97 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Woolly croton staminate flower
89 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Woolly croton
65 KB
Riley County, Kansas
Woolly croton
64 KB
Riley County, Kansas
Woolly croton
232 KB
Ottawa County, Kansas
Woolly croton
142 KB
Ottawa County, Kansas
Woolly croton
141 KB
Ottawa County, Kansas
Woolly croton pistillate flowers
152 KB
Ottawa County, Kansas
Woolly croton pistillate flowers
161 KB
Ottawa County, Kansas