Phyllanthopsis phyllanthoides
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Phyllanthopsis phyllanthoides' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Synonyms
- Lepidanthus phyllanthoides Nutt.
- Andrachne phyllanthoides (Nutt.) Müll.Arg.
Other taxa in genus
An erect, much-branched, deciduous shrub 1 to 3 ft high, its twigs angled, slightly downy, becoming glossy; slender, but not so slender as the related Leptopus chinensis. Leaves alternate, obovate or oval, 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in. long, 1⁄3 to 1⁄2 in. wide, tapered or rounded at the base, bluntish or rounded at the apex, entire; quite glabrous or sparingly downy beneath, glossy green above; stalk 1⁄16 in. long. Flowers unisexual, 1⁄4 in. across, yellowish green, produced in summer and autumn in the leaf-axils of the current season’s growth, small, green; the females solitary; males in axillary clusters. Fruits nearly globose, a dry capsule of three divisions, each division two-valved.
Native of the S. Central United States. It is easily distinguished from Leptopus chinensis (its former congener in Andrachne) by its stouter, downy, angled branchlets, and its partially downy, shorter-stalked leaves, often broadest above the middle. While it is rather neat in habit, the plant has little beauty of flower or fruit, and cannot be said to deserve a place in gardens except for its botanical interest. Thrives in ordinary loam in full sunshine, and can be increased by cuttings in August.