Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Mascarene Island Leaf-flower - Moeroris tenella   (Roxburgh) R.W. Bouman
Members of Phyllanthaceae:
Only member of Moeroris in NC.
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Section 6 » Family Phyllanthaceae
Author(Roxburgh) R.W. Bouman
DistributionVouchered from Durham (1961, 2012), Mecklenburg (1979), Randolph (2001), Guilford (2018), and Anson (2022) counties. A specimen from Craven County (at NCU) is P. caroliniensis. A specimen in 2023 is from Wilson County.

Native of the Old World tropics, including Indian Ocean islands; in N.A. VA and TN south to FL and TX.
AbundanceVery rare.
HabitatFlower beds, shrub beds, greenhouse weed.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting June-September.
IdentificationThis leaf-flower is an annual, branching herb, less than a foot tall. Leaves on the main stem are scale-like. Leaves are numerous on the branches, distichous (in one plane), dark green above and pale gray-green beneath, and less than 1 inch long. Flowers grow singly or a few together on drooping stalks from leaf axils.
Taxonomic CommentsMoved out of Phyllanthus by Bouman in 2021.

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State RankSE
Global RankGNR
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