FNA: Euphorbia polycarpa vs. Euphorbia golondrina

	Euphorbia polycarpa	Euphorbia golondrina
	smallseed sandmat	Boquillas sandmat, canyon spurge, swallow spurge
Habit		Herbs, annual, with slender taproot.
Stems		prostrate, 5–35 cm, glabrous.
Leaves		opposite; stipules distinct, subulate, 0.5–0.8 mm, glabrous; petiole 0.8–1 mm, glabrous; blade oblong, ovate-oblong, to narrowly elliptic-oblong, 5–11.5 × 1–4 mm, base asymmetric, cuneate to rounded, margins entire, thickened and often revolute on drying, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous; only midvein conspicuous.
Involucre		turbinate, 0.9–1.5 × 0.8–1.3 mm, glabrous; glands 4, occasionally rudimentary, red to purple, deeply concave, subcircular, 0.3–0.4 × 0.3–0.4 mm; appendages white, semilunate to slightly flabellate, 0.1–0.3 × 0.5–0.8 mm, distal margin entire.
Staminate flowers		28–40.
Pistillate flowers		ovary glabrous; styles 0.3–0.4 mm, 2-fid nearly entire length.
Capsules		broadly ovoid, 1.7–2 × 1.5–1.6 mm, glabrous; columella 1.4–1.7 mm.
Seeds		narrowly pyramidal-ovoid, 4-angled in cross section, 1.3–1.5 × 0.6–0.7 mm, with very faint transverse ridges or wrinkles.
Euphorbia	polycarpa is a highly variable species distributed throughout the Baja California peninsula, eastern Sonora, and the arid southwestern United States from southwestern Arizona to southern Nevada and central California.
l	.
c	.
Wheeler	(1941) divided the species into seven varieties, the majority of which occur in Baja California Sur.
He	reported two of these for the United States: var. hirtella and var. polycarpa.
Variety	hirtella, as the name suggests, was applied to hairy plants.
However	, it is here treated as a synonym of var. polycarpa, because variation in pubescence shows no geographic segregation and ranges along a continuum from glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy, and because glabrous and hairy branches can occur on the same individual.
Cyathia		solitary at distal nodes; peduncle 0.9–1.5 mm.

	Euphorbia polycarpa	Euphorbia golondrina
Phenology		Flowering and fruiting late spring–fall.
Habitat		Deep, sandy riverbanks.
Elevation		600 m. (2000 ft.)
Distribution	AZ; CA; NV; nw Mexico [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila) [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Varieties 5 (1 in the flora). Some of the varieties occurring in Mexico are highly divergent and appear to be sufficiently distinct to merit recognition as species. However, within the flora area, Euphorbia polycarpa is relatively uniform, and the only noteworthy variation involves the size of the involucral gland appendages. In the portion of the California Floristic Province occupied by E. polycarpa (Los Angeles, Orange, western Riverside, western San Diego, and Ventura counties) the appendages are conspicuously larger than those of plants throughout the remainder of its range in the southwestern United States (0.4–1.2 versus 0.1–0.3 mm). Large-appendaged plants are also common in Baja California and correspond well with the type collection. The taxonomic significance of this variation is not clear at this time, and the small-appendaged plants may merit segregation as an infraspecific taxon. However, no formal changes are proposed, awaiting a comprehensive review of the species throughout its range. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)	Euphorbia golondrina was first collected on a sandy riverbank at the entrance of Boquillas Canyon on the Texas/Mexico border, and the species appears to be restricted to the vicinity of the Rio Grande in western Texas and northern Mexico. Aside from the type locality at Boquillas Canyon, E. golondrina has been documented from additional locations along the Rio Grande in Brewster, Hudspeth, and Presidio counties in Texas and from northern Coahuila and Chihuahua, Mexico. Phylogenetic data place E. golondrina in a clade of primarily Chihuahuan desert annual and perennial herbaceous species (for example, E. chaetocalyx, E. fendleri, E. perennans, E. simulans, E. spurca, and E theriaca; Y. Yang and P. E. Berry 2011). Euphorbia golondrina is superficially similar to other glabrous species in western Texas (for example, E. micromera and E. theriaca), but E. micromera and E. theriaca either lack involucral gland appendages or have shorter, triangular appendages compared to the typical semilunate appendages in E. golondrina. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source	FNA vol. 12, p. 283.	FNA vol. 12, p. 269.
Parent taxa	Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum	Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum
Sibling taxa	E. aaron-rossii, E. abramsiana, E. acuta, E. agraria, E. albomarginata, E. alta, E. angusta, E. antisyphilitica, E. arizonica, E. astyla, E. austrotexana, E. bicolor, E. bifurcata, E. bilobata, E. blodgettii, E. bombensis, E. brachycera, E. capitellata, E. carunculata, E. chaetocalyx, E. chamaesula, E. cinerascens, E. commutata, E. conferta, E. cordifolia, E. corollata, E. crenulata, E. cumulicola, E. cuphosperma, E. curtisii, E. cyathophora, E. cyparissias, E. davidii, E. deltoidea, E. dendroides, E. dentata, E. discoidalis, E. eriantha, E. exigua, E. exserta, E. exstipulata, E. falcata, E. fendleri, E. florida, E. floridana, E. garberi, E. georgiana, E. geyeri, E. glyptosperma, E. golondrina, E. gracillima, E. graminea, E. helioscopia, E. helleri, E. heterophylla, E. hexagona, E. hirta, E. hooveri, E. humistrata, E. hypericifolia, E. hyssopifolia, E. indivisa, E. innocua, E. inundata, E. ipecacuanhae, E. jaegeri, E. jejuna, E. laredana, E. lasiocarpa, E. lata, E. lathyris, E. longicruris, E. lurida, E. macropus, E. maculata, E. marginata, E. meganaesos, E. melanadenia, E. mendezii, E. mercurialina, E. mesembrianthemifolia, E. micromera, E. misera, E. missurica, E. myrsinites, E. nephradenia, E. nutans, E. oblongata, E. ocellata, E. ophthalmica, E. ouachitana, E. parishii, E. parryi, E. pediculifera, E. peplidion, E. peplus, E. perennans, E. pergamena, E. pinetorum, E. platyphyllos, E. platysperma, E. polygonifolia, E. polyphylla, E. porteriana, E. prostrata, E. pubentissima, E. purpurea, E. radians, E. rayturneri, E. revoluta, E. roemeriana, E. rosescens, E. schizoloba, E. serpens, E. serpillifolia, E. serrata, E. serrula, E. setiloba, E. simulans, E. spathulata, E. stictospora, E. strictior, E. telephioides, E. terracina, E. tetrapora, E. texana, E. theriaca, E. thymifolia, E. tithymaloides, E. trachysperma, E. trichotoma, E. vallis-mortae, E. velleriflora, E. vermiculata, E. villifera, E. virgata, E. wrightii, E. yaquiana	E. aaron-rossii, E. abramsiana, E. acuta, E. agraria, E. albomarginata, E. alta, E. angusta, E. antisyphilitica, E. arizonica, E. astyla, E. austrotexana, E. bicolor, E. bifurcata, E. bilobata, E. blodgettii, E. bombensis, E. brachycera, E. capitellata, E. carunculata, E. chaetocalyx, E. chamaesula, E. cinerascens, E. commutata, E. conferta, E. cordifolia, E. corollata, E. crenulata, E. cumulicola, E. cuphosperma, E. curtisii, E. cyathophora, E. cyparissias, E. davidii, E. deltoidea, E. dendroides, E. dentata, E. discoidalis, E. eriantha, E. exigua, E. exserta, E. exstipulata, E. falcata, E. fendleri, E. florida, E. floridana, E. garberi, E. georgiana, E. geyeri, E. glyptosperma, E. gracillima, E. graminea, E. helioscopia, E. helleri, E. heterophylla, E. hexagona, E. hirta, E. hooveri, E. humistrata, E. hypericifolia, E. hyssopifolia, E. indivisa, E. innocua, E. inundata, E. ipecacuanhae, E. jaegeri, E. jejuna, E. laredana, E. lasiocarpa, E. lata, E. lathyris, E. longicruris, E. lurida, E. macropus, E. maculata, E. marginata, E. meganaesos, E. melanadenia, E. mendezii, E. mercurialina, E. mesembrianthemifolia, E. micromera, E. misera, E. missurica, E. myrsinites, E. nephradenia, E. nutans, E. oblongata, E. ocellata, E. ophthalmica, E. ouachitana, E. parishii, E. parryi, E. pediculifera, E. peplidion, E. peplus, E. perennans, E. pergamena, E. pinetorum, E. platyphyllos, E. platysperma, E. polycarpa, E. polygonifolia, E. polyphylla, E. porteriana, E. prostrata, E. pubentissima, E. purpurea, E. radians, E. rayturneri, E. revoluta, E. roemeriana, E. rosescens, E. schizoloba, E. serpens, E. serpillifolia, E. serrata, E. serrula, E. setiloba, E. simulans, E. spathulata, E. stictospora, E. strictior, E. telephioides, E. terracina, E. tetrapora, E. texana, E. theriaca, E. thymifolia, E. tithymaloides, E. trachysperma, E. trichotoma, E. vallis-mortae, E. velleriflora, E. vermiculata, E. villifera, E. virgata, E. wrightii, E. yaquiana
Subordinate taxa	E. polycarpa var. polycarpa
Synonyms	Chamaesyce polycarpa	Chamaesyce golondrina
Name authority	Bentham: Bot. Voy. Sulphur, 50. (1844)	L. C. Wheeler: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 53: 8. (1940)
Web links	Local floras: CA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Euphorbia golondrina

smallseed sandmat

Boquillas sandmat, canyon spurge, swallow spurge

Habit

Herbs, annual, with slender taproot.

Stems

prostrate, 5–35 cm, glabrous.

Leaves

opposite;

stipules distinct, subulate, 0.5–0.8 mm, glabrous;

petiole 0.8–1 mm, glabrous;

blade oblong, ovate-oblong, to narrowly elliptic-oblong, 5–11.5 × 1–4 mm, base asymmetric, cuneate to rounded, margins entire, thickened and often revolute on drying, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous;

only midvein conspicuous.

Involucre

turbinate, 0.9–1.5 × 0.8–1.3 mm, glabrous;

glands 4, occasionally rudimentary, red to purple, deeply concave, subcircular, 0.3–0.4 × 0.3–0.4 mm;

appendages white, semilunate to slightly flabellate, 0.1–0.3 × 0.5–0.8 mm, distal margin entire.

Staminate flowers

28–40.

Pistillate flowers

ovary glabrous;

styles 0.3–0.4 mm, 2-fid nearly entire length.

Capsules

broadly ovoid, 1.7–2 × 1.5–1.6 mm, glabrous;

columella 1.4–1.7 mm.

Seeds

narrowly pyramidal-ovoid, 4-angled in cross section, 1.3–1.5 × 0.6–0.7 mm, with very faint transverse ridges or wrinkles.

Euphorbia

polycarpa is a highly variable species distributed throughout the Baja California peninsula, eastern Sonora, and the arid southwestern United States from southwestern Arizona to southern Nevada and central California.

Wheeler

(1941) divided the species into seven varieties, the majority of which occur in Baja California Sur.

reported two of these for the United States: var. hirtella and var. polycarpa.

Variety

hirtella, as the name suggests, was applied to hairy plants.

However

, it is here treated as a synonym of var. polycarpa, because variation in pubescence shows no geographic segregation and ranges along a continuum from glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy, and because glabrous and hairy branches can occur on the same individual.

Cyathia

solitary at distal nodes;

peduncle 0.9–1.5 mm.

Euphorbia polycarpa

Euphorbia golondrina

Phenology

Flowering and fruiting late spring–fall.

Habitat

Deep, sandy riverbanks.

Elevation

600 m. (2000 ft.)

Distribution

AZ; CA; NV; nw Mexico

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila)

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Varieties 5 (1 in the flora).

Some of the varieties occurring in Mexico are highly divergent and appear to be sufficiently distinct to merit recognition as species. However, within the flora area, Euphorbia polycarpa is relatively uniform, and the only noteworthy variation involves the size of the involucral gland appendages. In the portion of the California Floristic Province occupied by E. polycarpa (Los Angeles, Orange, western Riverside, western San Diego, and Ventura counties) the appendages are conspicuously larger than those of plants throughout the remainder of its range in the southwestern United States (0.4–1.2 versus 0.1–0.3 mm). Large-appendaged plants are also common in Baja California and correspond well with the type collection. The taxonomic significance of this variation is not clear at this time, and the small-appendaged plants may merit segregation as an infraspecific taxon. However, no formal changes are proposed, awaiting a comprehensive review of the species throughout its range.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Euphorbia golondrina was first collected on a sandy riverbank at the entrance of Boquillas Canyon on the Texas/Mexico border, and the species appears to be restricted to the vicinity of the Rio Grande in western Texas and northern Mexico. Aside from the type locality at Boquillas Canyon, E. golondrina has been documented from additional locations along the Rio Grande in Brewster, Hudspeth, and Presidio counties in Texas and from northern Coahuila and Chihuahua, Mexico. Phylogenetic data place E. golondrina in a clade of primarily Chihuahuan desert annual and perennial herbaceous species (for example, E. chaetocalyx, E. fendleri, E. perennans, E. simulans, E. spurca, and E theriaca; Y. Yang and P. E. Berry 2011). Euphorbia golondrina is superficially similar to other glabrous species in western Texas (for example, E. micromera and E. theriaca), but E. micromera and E. theriaca either lack involucral gland appendages or have shorter, triangular appendages compared to the typical semilunate appendages in E. golondrina.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source

FNA vol. 12, p. 283.

FNA vol. 12, p. 269.

Parent taxa

Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum

Sibling taxa

E. aaron-rossii, E. abramsiana, E. acuta, E. agraria, E. albomarginata, E. alta, E. angusta, E. antisyphilitica, E. arizonica, E. astyla, E. austrotexana, E. bicolor, E. bifurcata, E. bilobata, E. blodgettii, E. bombensis, E. brachycera, E. capitellata, E. carunculata, E. chaetocalyx, E. chamaesula, E. cinerascens, E. commutata, E. conferta, E. cordifolia, E. corollata, E. crenulata, E. cumulicola, E. cuphosperma, E. curtisii, E. cyathophora, E. cyparissias, E. davidii, E. deltoidea, E. dendroides, E. dentata, E. discoidalis, E. eriantha, E. exigua, E. exserta, E. exstipulata, E. falcata, E. fendleri, E. florida, E. floridana, E. garberi, E. georgiana, E. geyeri, E. glyptosperma, E. golondrina, E. gracillima, E. graminea, E. helioscopia, E. helleri, E. heterophylla, E. hexagona, E. hirta, E. hooveri, E. humistrata, E. hypericifolia, E. hyssopifolia, E. indivisa, E. innocua, E. inundata, E. ipecacuanhae, E. jaegeri, E. jejuna, E. laredana, E. lasiocarpa, E. lata, E. lathyris, E. longicruris, E. lurida, E. macropus, E. maculata, E. marginata, E. meganaesos, E. melanadenia, E. mendezii, E. mercurialina, E. mesembrianthemifolia, E. micromera, E. misera, E. missurica, E. myrsinites, E. nephradenia, E. nutans, E. oblongata, E. ocellata, E. ophthalmica, E. ouachitana, E. parishii, E. parryi, E. pediculifera, E. peplidion, E. peplus, E. perennans, E. pergamena, E. pinetorum, E. platyphyllos, E. platysperma, E. polygonifolia, E. polyphylla, E. porteriana, E. prostrata, E. pubentissima, E. purpurea, E. radians, E. rayturneri, E. revoluta, E. roemeriana, E. rosescens, E. schizoloba, E. serpens, E. serpillifolia, E. serrata, E. serrula, E. setiloba, E. simulans, E. spathulata, E. stictospora, E. strictior, E. telephioides, E. terracina, E. tetrapora, E. texana, E. theriaca, E. thymifolia, E. tithymaloides, E. trachysperma, E. trichotoma, E. vallis-mortae, E. velleriflora, E. vermiculata, E. villifera, E. virgata, E. wrightii, E. yaquiana

E. aaron-rossii, E. abramsiana, E. acuta, E. agraria, E. albomarginata, E. alta, E. angusta, E. antisyphilitica, E. arizonica, E. astyla, E. austrotexana, E. bicolor, E. bifurcata, E. bilobata, E. blodgettii, E. bombensis, E. brachycera, E. capitellata, E. carunculata, E. chaetocalyx, E. chamaesula, E. cinerascens, E. commutata, E. conferta, E. cordifolia, E. corollata, E. crenulata, E. cumulicola, E. cuphosperma, E. curtisii, E. cyathophora, E. cyparissias, E. davidii, E. deltoidea, E. dendroides, E. dentata, E. discoidalis, E. eriantha, E. exigua, E. exserta, E. exstipulata, E. falcata, E. fendleri, E. florida, E. floridana, E. garberi, E. georgiana, E. geyeri, E. glyptosperma, E. gracillima, E. graminea, E. helioscopia, E. helleri, E. heterophylla, E. hexagona, E. hirta, E. hooveri, E. humistrata, E. hypericifolia, E. hyssopifolia, E. indivisa, E. innocua, E. inundata, E. ipecacuanhae, E. jaegeri, E. jejuna, E. laredana, E. lasiocarpa, E. lata, E. lathyris, E. longicruris, E. lurida, E. macropus, E. maculata, E. marginata, E. meganaesos, E. melanadenia, E. mendezii, E. mercurialina, E. mesembrianthemifolia, E. micromera, E. misera, E. missurica, E. myrsinites, E. nephradenia, E. nutans, E. oblongata, E. ocellata, E. ophthalmica, E. ouachitana, E. parishii, E. parryi, E. pediculifera, E. peplidion, E. peplus, E. perennans, E. pergamena, E. pinetorum, E. platyphyllos, E. platysperma, E. polycarpa, E. polygonifolia, E. polyphylla, E. porteriana, E. prostrata, E. pubentissima, E. purpurea, E. radians, E. rayturneri, E. revoluta, E. roemeriana, E. rosescens, E. schizoloba, E. serpens, E. serpillifolia, E. serrata, E. serrula, E. setiloba, E. simulans, E. spathulata, E. stictospora, E. strictior, E. telephioides, E. terracina, E. tetrapora, E. texana, E. theriaca, E. thymifolia, E. tithymaloides, E. trachysperma, E. trichotoma, E. vallis-mortae, E. velleriflora, E. vermiculata, E. villifera, E. virgata, E. wrightii, E. yaquiana

Subordinate taxa

E. polycarpa var. polycarpa

Synonyms

Chamaesyce polycarpa

Chamaesyce golondrina

Name authority

Bentham: Bot. Voy. Sulphur, 50. (1844)

L. C. Wheeler: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 53: 8. (1940)

Web links

Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:

Flora of North America species comparison

Euphorbia polycarpa

Euphorbia golondrina

Euphorbia polycarpa

Euphorbia golondrina