Euphorbia prostrata |
Euphorbia revoluta |
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blue weed, ground spurge, prostrate sandmat, prostrate spurge or sandmat |
revolute spurge, threadstem sandmat, threadstem spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, with taproot. | Herbs, annual, with slender taproot. |
Stems | prostrate to decumbent, usually not mat-forming, 10–30 cm, crisped-villous to glabrate (proximally). |
erect, 5–25 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | opposite; stipules connate (lower side) or distinct (upper side), triangular-subulate, often lacerate distally, 0.5–1 mm, short crisped-villous to glabrate; petiole 0.5–1.5 mm, usually short crisped-villous, sometimes wooly at distal nodes; blade broadly elliptic to elliptic-oblong, ovate-spatulate, or ovate, 3–11(–15) × 3–6(–8) mm, base slightly asymmetric, rounded to slightly cordate and oblique, margins serrulate at least in distal 1/2, sometimes obscurely so, apex obtuse, abaxial surface finely crisped-villous, adaxial surface usually glabrous or glabrate, sometimes sparsely crisped-villous; 3-veined from base. |
opposite; stipules distinct, subulate-filiform, entire, 0.5–0.9 mm, glabrous; petiole 0.6–1.1 mm, glabrous; blade linear, 6–27 × 0.6–1.2 mm, base symmetric, attenuate, margins entire, revolute, apex acute, sometimes mucronate, surfaces glabrous; only midvein conspicuous. |
Involucre | obconic, 0.6–0.9 × 0.5 mm, crisped-villous or glabrous; glands 4, reddish, oval to oblong, 0.1 × 0.1–0.2 mm; appendages white to pink, rudimentary, 0–0.2 mm, distal margin entire or irregularly scalloped. |
obconic to campanulate, 0.7–0.9 × 0.5–0.7 mm, glabrous; glands 4, pink to dark purple, nearly circular to oblong or reniform, 0.1 × 0.1–0.2 mm; appendages white, oblong, nearly circular, ovate, deltate, or forming thin margin around gland, rarely absent, (0–)0.1–0.2 × (0–)0.1–0.3 mm, distal margin entire. |
Staminate flowers | 3–6. |
5–10. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary densely crisped-villous; styles 0.1 mm, 2-fid nearly entire length. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.2–0.3 mm, unbranched. |
Capsules | broadly ovoid, 1.2–2 × 1.4–1.5 mm, crisped-villous along keels and toward base, often glabrous between keels; columella 1–1.2 mm. |
ovoid to subglobose, 1.5–1.8 × 1.6–1.8 mm, glabrous; columella 1.1–1.5 mm. |
Seeds | white but with barely concealed brown surface beneath, ovoid, sharply 4-angled in cross section, abaxial faces plane to convex, adaxial faces concave, 0.8–1.1 × 0.5–0.7 mm, with several narrow, sharp, slightly irregular, transverse ridges. |
whitish, brick red, light gray, or light brown, narrowly to broadly ovoid, 4-angled in cross section, 0.9–1.4 × 0.7–1 mm, nearly smooth, rugulose, with faint transverse ridges, or with 2–3 well-defined transverse ridges separated by shallow depressions. |
Cyathia | solitary or in small, cymose clusters at distal nodes or on congested, axillary branches; peduncle 1–2 mm. |
solitary at distal nodes; peduncles absent or to 1.5 mm. |
2n | = 18. |
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Euphorbia prostrata |
Euphorbia revoluta |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting early spring–fall. | Flowering and fruiting summer–late fall. |
Habitat | Disturbed areas, fields, gardens, sidewalks, sandy places, ballast piles. | Desert scrub, sagebrush scrub, juniper woodlands, Joshua tree-pinyon pine woodlands, oak woodlands, grasslands, chaparral, pine-oak forests. |
Elevation | 0–1400 m. (0–4600 ft.) | 600–2500 m. (2000–8200 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NE; NM; OH; OK; PA; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; WV; WY; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in Eurasia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia]
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AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; TX; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora, Zacatecas)
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Discussion | Euphorbia prostrata is native to tropical America and possibly into the southern part of the flora area. It is likely adventive throughout most of the northern part of its range. It is widely naturalized throughout much of the rest of the tropics. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Euphorbia revoluta is a distinctive, easily recognizable species by virtue of the combination of unbranched styles and linear leaves with symmetric bases. The species ranges through northern Mexico into the southwestern United States and is composed of three well-marked, geographically distinct races that can be distinguished by their seeds. The first of these races occurs primarily in pine-oak forest of the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico (Chihuahua and Sonora) and barely enters the flora area in the Huachuca Mountains of southeastern Arizona; the seeds are brick red and nearly smooth. The second race is widespread in the Chihuahuan Desert from northern Mexico to southeastern New Mexico and southwestern Texas; its seeds are whitish to light gray and possess two or three well-defined transverse ridges separated by shallow depressions. The third race corresponds to the type collection and is characterized by grayish white to light brown seeds that are rugulose or with faint transverse ridges; it occurs in northwestern Mexico (Baja California and Sonora) and throughout the arid southwestern United States. It is probable that further study will justify the taxonomic segregation of these races as either distinct species or subspecies. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 285. | FNA vol. 12, p. 286. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Chamaesyce prostrata | Chamaesyce revoluta |
Name authority | Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 139. (1789) | Engelmann: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 186. (1859) |
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