''Hexasepalum teres'' is a species of flowering plant in the
coffee family known by the common names poorjoe and rough buttonweed. This annual plant is native to Mexico, Central America, South America, the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
and the United States from
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
to
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
and from
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
to
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. The species is also naturalized in the Netherlands, the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, Western Africa, Angola, China, Japan and Korea,
India, and Madagascar.
''Hexasepalum teres'' has a thin, erect or prostrate stem rarely up to in height. It has opposite leaves which are stiff, dark green, elliptical, pointed, and roughly-textured, up to long. Each pair of leaves cradles a flower at its base. The small white to pinkish-purple flower has four stiff petal-like lobes up to long and wide. The fruit is
ellipsoid
An ellipsoid is a surface that can be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional Scaling (geometry), scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation.
An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a Surface (mathemat ...
, splitting into two
nutlet
A nut is a fruit consisting of a hard or tough nutshell protecting a kernel which is usually edible. In general usage and in a culinary sense, many dry seeds are called nuts, but in a botanical context, "nut" implies that the shell does not open ...
s This plant is most common in sandy areas such as desert dunes and river floodplains.
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment
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{{Taxonbar, from1=Q80699136, from2=Q5279093
Spermacoceae
Flora of Central America
Flora of the Caribbean
Flora of Southern America
Flora of Mexico
Flora of the United States
Plants described in 1788
Taxa named by John Kunkel Small
Flora without expected TNC conservation status