Euphorbia stictospora |
Euphorbia peplus |
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mat spurge, narrow-seed spurge, slimseed sandmat |
petty spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, with taproot. | Herbs, annual, with taproot. |
Stems | prostrate, often mat-forming, occasionally with ascending tips, 5–45 cm, densely and evenly pilose to lanate. |
erect, unbranched or branched, 5–30 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | opposite; stipules distinct or connate basally on one side of stem, entire or irregularly toothed or fringed, 0.5–1.2 mm, pilose to lanate; petiole 0.3–1.5 mm, pilose to lanate; blade usually oblong to oblong-obovate, occasionally nearly circular, 3–10(–15) × 2–5(–10) mm, base asymmetric, one side usually angled or rounded and other truncate-auriculate, margins minutely or conspicuously serrulate at least toward apex, apex usually broadly rounded to broadly acute, occasionally emarginate, abaxial surface often ± lighter green and without reddish spot, both surfaces sparsely to moderately pilose to lanate; 3-veined from base or venation obscure. |
petiole 1–10 mm; blade obovate, oblong, or suborbiculate, 5–25 × 4–15 mm, base attenuate or cuneate, margins entire, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous; venation pinnate, midvein prominent. |
Involucre | obconic, 0.7–1 × 0.4–0.6 mm, moderately to densely pilose to lanate; glands 4, reddish, ± unequal, oblong, 0.1 × 0.1–0.3 mm; appendages white to strongly pinkish or reddish tinged, often unequal, sometimes 1 to all absent, 0–0.3 × 0–0.4 mm, 3-lobed or rudimentarily 1-lobed, distal margin crenate. |
cupulate to slightly turbinate, 0.6–1.1 × 0.7–0.9 mm, glabrous; glands 4, elliptic, 0.2–0.3 × 0.5–0.6 mm; horns slightly convergent to divergent, 0.4–0.6 mm. |
Staminate flowers | 3–9. |
10–15. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary pilose to villous, hairs occasionally slightly appressed; styles 0.2–0.5 mm, unbranched or inconspicuously notched at tip. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.1–0.2 mm, 2-fid. |
Capsules | ovoid, 1.6–2.3 × 1.4–1.5 mm, moderately to densely villous with hairs usually slightly appressed, pubescence often concentrated on proximal 1/2 or along lobes; columella 1.5–2 mm. |
subglobose, 1.3–2 × 1.5–2.2 mm, slightly 3-lobed; cocci rounded, with 2 low longitudinal wings, smooth, glabrous; columella 1.1–1.3 mm. |
Seeds | light to dark brown, usually mottled, sometimes with thin, white coating, often wearing away irregularly, narrowly oblong-ovoid to ellipsoid, 3–4-angled in cross section, 1–1.5 × 0.5–0.6 mm, with short, irregularly interrupted furrows, appearing partially and irregularly few-ridged. |
whitish or grayish, subovoid, 1–1.6 × 0.6–1 mm, abaxial faces regularly large-pitted (appearing almost alveolate), adaxial faces longitudinally sulcate; caruncle deciduous, conic, 0.2–0.5 × 0.2–0.7 mm. |
Cyathia | solitary at leaf nodes or in small, cymose clusters on congested, axillary branches; peduncle 0.7–2.5 mm. |
peduncle 0.4–1.1 mm. |
Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 3–5, usually 2–8 times 2-branched, 1st branching level rarely 3-furcate; pleiochasial bracts similar in shape to and slightly larger than distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, ovate to obovate, base obtuse, margins entire, apex obtuse, usually mucronate; axillary cymose branches 0–3. |
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Euphorbia stictospora |
Euphorbia peplus |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting midsummer–early fall. | Flowering and fruiting year-round. |
Habitat | Open disturbed areas, rocky slopes. | Edges of gardens, weedy flower beds, roadsides, waste places, open ground near forests. |
Elevation | 100–2100 m. (300–6900 ft.) | 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CO; IA; KS; MO; ND; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, San Luis Potosí)
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AL; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MT; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; Europe; w Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Bermuda, Central America, South America, Africa, Atlantic Islands, Indian Ocean Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia]
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Discussion | Euphorbia stictospora has been recorded from New York, but this disjunct occurrence likely represents a waif or misidentification. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 289. | FNA vol. 12, p. 307. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Chamaesyce stictospora | Esula peplus, Galarhoeus peplus, Tithymalus peplus |
Name authority | Engelmann: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 187. (1859) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 456. (1753) |
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