Tetracoccus hallii is a species of flowering shrub in the family Picrodendraceae, known by the common names Hall's shrubby-spurge and Hall's tetracoccus.
Distribution
The plant is native to the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert: in southeastern California, southern Nevada, and western Arizona in the U.S.; and Baja California state in Mexico.
It grows in many types of desert habitat, including creosote bush scrub, at elevations below .
It is abundant and widespread in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.
Description
Tetracoccus hallii is a bushy, branching shrub, hairless in texture except for the new twigs, which have rough hairs. The small leaves occur in clusters along the branches, each leathery, teardrop-shaped leaf measuring just a few millimeters long.
The plant is dioecious, with male and female individuals producing different types of flowers. The staminate flowers occur in clusters, each flower with 4 to 6 rounded sepals and 4 to 8 erect stamens. The pistillate flower occurs singly. Its bloom period is January through May, from the lower Sonoran to the higher Mojave deserts.
It produces a rounded, woolly fruit with usually three chambers. The fruit is around a centimeter long when mature and contains one or two seeds per chamber.
See also
References
External links
Calflora Database: Tetracoccus hallii (Hall's purple bush, Hall's shrubby spurge, Holly leaved spurge) Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Tetracoccus hallii USDA Plants Profile for Tetracoccus hallii (Hall's shrubby-spurge) UC CalPhotos gallery of Tetracoccus hallii