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Mercurialis annua

(Annual Mercury)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Annual Mercury, Herb Mercury, Herb-Mercury

Common Names in Hungarian:

Hasindité

Common Names in Italian:

Mercorella Comune

Common Names in Portuguese:

Barredoiro, Basallo

Common Names in Romanian:

Bree, Brei, Brei De Cîmp, Brei De Pădure, Brei De Pămînt, Brie, Brîie, Buruiană Cîinească, Slăbănog, Slăbănog De Cîmp, Slobonog De Cîmp, Slobonov, Slobonov De Cîmp, Trepadatoare

Common Names in Russian:

Prolesnik Odnoletnij, пролесник однолетний

Common Names in Spanish:

Malcoraje, Mercurial

Description

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Family Euphorbiaceae

The Euphorbiaceae are mostly monoecious herbs, shrubs , and trees , sometimes succulent and cactus-like, comprising one of the largest families of plants with about 300 genera and 7,500 species that are further characterized by the frequent occurrence of milky sap . The leaves are mostly alternate but may be opposite or whorled and they are simple , or compound , or sometimes highly reduced. Stipules are generally present but may be reduced to hairs , glands or spines. The flowers are unisexual and usually actinomorphic . They may be highly reduced by suppression of parts, in the extreme form consisting of a naked stamen as a male flower and a naked pistil as a female flower. A specialized type of miniature inflorescence called a cyathium occurs in about 1,500 species comprising the genera Euphorbia and Chamaesyce. The cyathium consists of a single naked pistillate flower surrounded by cymes of naked staminate flowers, each consisting of a single stamen. These flowers are all enclosed in a cup-like involucre that typically is provided with peripheral nectaries and petaloid appendages such that the whole aggregation closely resembles a single flower. In other members of the family the flowers and inflorescences are more ordinary in appearance , with male and female flowers typically bearing a 5-merous calyx and corolla of distinct segments, although the corolla is sometimes absent. In these forms the androecium most commonly consists of 5, 10 or sometimes numerous distinct or monadelphous stamens. The gynoecium of female flowers consists of a single compound pistil of typically 3 carpels, an equal number of styles or primary style branches, and a superior ovary with typically 3 locules, each bearing 1 or 2 collateral , axile-apical pendulous ovules. The fruit is usually a capsular schizocarp. -- Gerald Carr.

Physical Description

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: March, April, May, June, July, August, September. • Flower Color: inconspicuous, none

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 6-12" tall.

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,478 meters (0 to 4,849 feet).[1]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Annual

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Discoplis serrata Raf. • Mercurialis ambigua L. F. • Mercurialis annua ambigua (L. F.) Arcang. • Mercurialis annua ambigua< /i> (L. F.) Müll. Arg. • Mercurialis annua f. ciliata (J. Presl & C. Presl) Pax & K. Hoffm. • Mercurialis annua f. cordata Wirtg. • Mercurialis annua f. cuneatolanceolata Wirtg. • Mercurialis annua f. huetii (Hanry) Pax & K. Hoffm. • Mercurialis annua f. lanceolata Wirtg. • Mercurialis annua f. ovata Wirtg. • Mercurialis annua huetii (Hanry) Lange • Mercurialis annua var. ambigua Duby • Mercurialis annua var. angustifolia Gaudin • Mercurialis annua var. camberiensis Chabert • Mercurialis annua var. capillacea Guépin • Mercurialis annua var. dioica Moris • Mercurialis annua var. euannua Litard. • Mercurialis annua var. genuina Müll. Arg. • Mercurialis annua var. huetii (Hanry) Müll. Arg. • Mercurialis annua var. laciniata Müll. Arg. • Mercurialis annua var. monoica Moris • Mercurialis annua var. serrata Litard. • Mercurialis annua var. transsylvanica Schur • Mercurialis annua var. typica Fiori • Mercurialis annua var. variegata Löhr • Mercurialis ciliata J. Presl & C. Presl • Mercurialis huetii Hanry • Mercurialis ladanum Hartm. • Mercurialis monoica (Moris) B. M. Durand • Mercurialis pinnatifida Sennen • Mercurialis tarraconensis Sennen • Synema annuum (L.) Dulac

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 11-Nov-2003

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Mercurialis

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

M. annua (Annual Mercury) · M. perennis (Dog's Mercury)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 12, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mean = 120.460 meters (395.210 feet), Standard Deviation = 166.290 based on 4,382 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012