Devilqueen

Phaulothamnus spinescens is very infrequent, scattered in the lower south Texas plains and adjacent Mexico. Because the seeds are black and easily seen within the translucent fruits, the fruits give the appearance of a small eye, hence the common name snake-eyes.

Plants erect, to 2.5 m, glabrous. Leaves sessile or petiolate; blade to 35 × 12 mm, broadest distal to middle; petiole ± 1 mm. Flowers yellow-green; tepals 4, 2.5 × 2 mm. Berries gray-translucent to white, tinged with green, borne on peduncle 0.5-2 × 4-5 mm diam. Seed black, 1-2 mm, granular and rugose, visible through fruit wall.

Tex.; Mexico (Baja California, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas).

Flowering summer-fall; fruiting fall-winter.

Sandy to clayey soils in thickets, wooded areas; 0-200m.

Phaulothamnus spinescens A. Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. 20: 294 1885.
A glabrous shrub, 9-18 dm. high, with a grayish bark and horizontal spine tipped bran hi , leaf-blades oblong-olmvate »r spatulate, 1-2.4 cm. long, 0.4-1 cm. broad, rounded at the
i mm ion.,r li -., inflori iceni usually slmiirr than tinleaves; flowers
Ubulate, 1 mm. long; sepals elliptic, about 2.5 mm. long, 1.1 I 9
mm. broad, rounded at tin apex; itaminati flowei filami nt slender, about 1 mm. long; • mm long; pistillate Bowers: ovary 2 mm. Ion ipillo e, ! .S mm.
long; fruit 4 5 mm. in diameter, white, translucent, seed 2 9 mm broad, bl
I
.ico. on Bneter, Pflanzenreich *'•'/. I-.