Stillingia spinulosa

Stillingia spinulosa is a species of flowering plant in the euphorb family known by the common name annual toothleaf.[1] It is native to the Southwestern United States where it occurs in the creosote scrub of the deserts. It is an annual or perennial herb producing a clump of thick, leafy stems approaching a meter in maximum height. The alternately arranged leaves have shiny pointed oval blades 2 to 4 centimeters long and up to 1.2 centimeters wide which are lined with sharp teeth. The inflorescence is a stout spike of flowers 1 to 2 centimeters long. The plant is monoecious, and each spike has several male flowers at the tip and 1 or 2 fruit-bearing female flowers below these. Neither type of flower has petals. The ovary of the female flower develops into a three-lobed greenish capsule about half a centimeter wide. There is a tiny rough-surfaced seed in each of the three chambers of the fruit.

Stillingia spinulosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Genus:	Stillingia
Species:	S. spinulosa
Binomial name
Stillingia spinulosa Torr.