Stems several from a stout vertical root, repeatedly dichotomous (or trichotomous) from the base upward, eventually to 3 dm, spreading to ascending; lvs eciliate, opposite, red or green, variable, even on the same plant, from linear to broadly ovate or obovate, the early ones small, the later ones to 5 cm, involucres solitary and long-pediceled from each node, terminal but often apparently lateral by suppression of one branch; appendages scarcely developed, consisting of a minute green margin on the gland; seeds angular. In sand, chiefly on the coastal plain; L.I. to Ga. Apr.-May (July). (Tithymalopsis i.)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
