Ditrysinia fruticosa (W. Bartram) Govaerts & Frodin

Gulf Sebastian Bush

Shrub

Perennial

Vascular

Gulf Sebastian Bush is a native deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub in the Spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). It is native to the southern 2/3’s of Alabama. Gulf Sebastian Bush occurs along streams and rivers, in floodplain woods, and in mesic to wet woodlands. It is a loosely branched shrub between 3-6 feet in height. The young stems are green and glabrous while older stems have thin gray bark. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, elliptic to lanceolate in outline, entire, and glabrous. Leaves are semi-evergreen, becoming red or orange before falling. The leaves are dark shiny green above and pale green below, with a reddish petiole. Flowers are produced in spike-like racemes from the axils of the upper leaves. The racemes have pistillate flowers at the base and staminate flowers above. The flowers lack petals. The flowers are each subtended by a bract with a gland on either side. The pistillate flowers have three sepals, 3 stigmas, and a 3-locular ovary. The staminate flowers have 3 sepals and 3 stamens. The fruit is a 3-locular capsule with one seed in each locule. Gulf Sebastian Bush is an alternate host for the Rust fungus Uromyces graminicola which attacks Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum Linnaeus).—A. Diamond

**

Native

**