Description ²

Plants prostrate (ascending in shade or competition) annuals; glabrous; generally less than 4 cm tall glabrous; often spreading to 20-30 cm wide, rarely more than 30 cm; plants form mats of 1 to many layers of stems. Largest internodes up to 2 mm in diameter at base. Stipules divide into thread-like strands. Leaves oblong; margins slightly serrated but difficult to notice without magnification; bases significantly unequal; sides typically not curved. Cyathia small, around 0.5 mm across. Appendages present. Fruits around 1.5 mm long. Seeds deeply ridged.

Habitat and Distribution ²

Common and widespread (Turner et. al., 2003; SRSC) in various soils but tends to prefer dry, disturbed, sandy soils. This species is especially common after an area has been tilled. It is generally only weedy if an area is not watered. For this reason, it is not often a lawn and garden weed if an owner provides supplemental watering (which opens the door for at least four other species), but is often a non-problematic weed in dry-land cotton fields. Probably one of the most common species on the Llano.

Comments ²

Euphorbia glyptosperma looks superficially most similar to Euphorbia geyeri. However, E. geyeri has entire leaves, almost equal leaf bases, larger cyathia and fruits, and smooth seeds. The stems are also usually redder in E. glyptosperma, but this is a variable character. Euphorbia glyptosperma typically likes finer sands while E. geyeri seems to prefer stable, open dunes of coarse sand (the two occasionally grow side-by-side when their preferred habitats are close together). Euphorbia glyptosperma is by far the more common.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Nathan Taylor, all rights reserved, uploaded by Nathan Taylor
2. (c) Nathan Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Calflora
• CalPhotos
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• OregonFlora.org
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

iNat Map