Syrrhopodon prolifer Schwaegr. var. papillosus (C. Muell.) Reese in Alabama: A New State Record

Syrrhopodon prolifer var. papillosus (C. Muell.) Reese, a variety widely distributed in the American tropics, is reported for the first time from Alabama. The variety papillosus of the Syrrhopodon prolifer Schwaegr. complex is one of five recognized by Reese (1978), and differs from the others in possessing straight to slightly curved leaves, linear, entire-mar- gined upper lamina, thick-walled, bulging-papillose leaf cells, and a usually blunt, spinose apex. Ac- cording to Reese (1978), S. prolifer contains an as- semblage of forms that exhibit extreme character variations, often making it impossible to assign a varietal name to every specimen. The variety pap- illosus is a common weedy taxon of the American tropics and extends northward to subtropical areas of North America (Reese 1978). In North America,