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| Scientific Name | Euphorbia albomarginata (Chamaesyce albomarginata) | USDA PLANTS Symbol |
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| Common Name | Rattlesnake Weed, Whitemargined Sandmat | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. |
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| Family | Euphorbiaceae (Spurge) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Habitat: Limestone soils and poorly-drained clay soils; in open or disturbed areas in desert scrub, grasslands, mesquite woodlands. Plant: Prostrate, mat-forming perennial with stems branching from a central point and frequently rooting at nodes; stems 4 to 30 inches long. Leaves: Opposite stem leaves on very short petioles; blades orbicular to oblong, 1/8 to 1/3 inch long, entire margins often with a red blotch in the center. Inflorescence: Very small flowers with what appear to be 4 white petals; each blossom is actually a cyathium, a cup formed of white petal-like bracts which contain very small, separate male and female flowers. For a detailed description click here. Fruit: Smooth, tiny, broadly oval-shaped, ~1/16-inch long. Bloom Period: April to September. References: "Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas" by Correll and Johnston, "Northern Chihuahuan Desert Wildflowers" by Steve West, and SEINet. |
BONAP Distribution Map
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Texas Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Euphorbia capitellata (Chamaesyce capitellata, Chamaesyce pycnanthema) | USDA PLANTS Symbol |
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| Common Name | Head Sandmat | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. |
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| Family | Euphorbiaceae (Spurge) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Habitat: Dry areas in gravelly washes, rocky slopes, basaltic talus, disturbed roadsides, desert scrub and grasslands; 1,500 to 5,000 ft. Plant: Decumbent to erect annual or short-lived perennial a few inches tall with many (5 to 50) slightly hairy to smooth, somewhat branched, stems up to 14 inches long. Leaves: Opposite,ovate to narrowly ovate, 3/16 to 1 inch long, with asymmetrical bases and acute to obtuse tips; lower margins are serrate, upper are entire, or sometimes both are the same; surfaces are gray-green, smooth or sparsely covered with short hairs. Inflorescence: Dense, ball-shaped clusters of very small (appearing to be about 1/8-inch across or less) cyathia at the upper leaf axils; cyathia have a reddish, bell-shaped involucre ringed by white "petals" (actually called "appendages") surrounding 4 yellow-green to reddish nectar glands at thei bases; each cyathium with many staminate flowers (stamens and anthers) and one pistillate flower (the ovary) that is smooth or fuzzy with a protruding stigma with 3 styles, each with 2 whitish lobes. Fruit: Smooth to hairy, tiny, broadly oval-shaped, ~1/16-inch long and as wide. Bloom Period: April to November. References: Flora of North America and SEINet; Euphorbia pycnanthema in "Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas" by Correll and Johnston. |
BONAP Distribution Map
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Texas Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Euphorbia corollata | USDA PLANTS Symbol |
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| Common Name | Flowering Spurge | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. |
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| Family | Euphorbiaceae (Spurge) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Habitat: Prairies, open fields and woods, roadsides, disturbed areas. Plant: Erect annual less than 1 foot to more than 3 feet tall, often bent over; much-branched in upper portion of stem. Leaves: Stem leaves alternate, linear to elliptic 1-1/8 to 2-3/8 inches long; smaller, opposite leaves below the branches and near the blossoms. Inflorescence: Open panicles of very small white blossoms atop branches; flowers monoecious, 5 white bracts resemble petals; those of female blossoms with yellow bases and large, protruding, tripartite style; male blossoms have several stamens Fruit: Small, 3-lobed, green, fruit capsule less than 1/4 inch long. Bloom Period: June to September. References: Illinois Wildlowers and SEINet. |
BONAP Distribution Map
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Texas Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Euphorbia eriantha | USDA PLANTS Symbol |
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| Common Name | Beetle Spurge, Woolly-flower Spurge | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. |
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| Family | Euphorbiaceae (Spurge) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Habitat: Gravely, dry, hot areas, hillsides, and canyons. Plant: Erect annual 6 to 20 inches tall tangled with many branching stems. Leaves: Very narrow, alternate, linear leaves 1 to 3 inches long. Inflorescence: Many (>25) tiny white flowers in a few hairy clusters at the ends of the branches; male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers are separate. Fruit: Female flower becoming a small green, hairy fruit capsule less than 1/4 inch long. Bloom Period: February to October. References: SEINet. |
BONAP Distribution Map
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Texas Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Euphorbia indivisa (Chamaesyce dioica, Euphorbia dioica var. indivisa) | USDA PLANTS Symbol |
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| Common Name | Royal Sandmat | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. |
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| Family | Euphorbiaceae (Spurge) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Habitat: Dry rocky or sandy soils, especialy igneous soils, in creekbeds, grasslands and woodlands; 4,000-6,000 ft. Plant: Inconspicous, weedy-looking prostrate annual with pubescent stems branching from central point, 2 to 10 inches long; herbage with milky sap. Leaves: Opposite, oblong, ovate or narrowly obovate, up to nearly 1/2-inch long and less than 1/4-inch wide; bases very unsymmetrical; serrulate, especially near the tip; upper surface smooth with occational hairs, lower surface hairier. Inflorescence: Very small flowers (called cyathia in spurges) in small congested clusters on branches; 4 pink to reddish, unequal petals (called appendages), two larger and two much smaller; male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers are separate, 5 to 15 staminate flowers and 3 pistillate flowers in each cyathium. Fruit: Female flower becoming a very small, somewhat pear-shaped, hairy capsule less than 0.1-inch long. Bloom Period: July to September. References: "Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas" by Correll and Johnston, Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness, SEINet, Flora of North America and The New Mexico Botanist. |
BONAP Distribution Map
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Texas Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Euphorbia marginata | USDA PLANTS Symbol |
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| Common Name | Snow-on-the-mountain | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. |
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| Family | Euphorbiaceae (Spurge) | Flora of North America Ref. | Click Here |
| Description |
Habitat: Partly-sunny, dryer areas, gravelly soils. Plant: Erect open annual 1 to 3 feet tall with several branches originating at leaf axils; lower stems reddish brown as the plant matures; upper stems hairy. Leaves: Alternate cupped lower leaves, sessile, ovate to lanceolate, 1 to 3 inches long; near inflorescence leaves become narrower and have white margins. Inflorescence: Several blossom heads atop each branch and white-margined leaves; each blossom is a cyathium, a cup formed by white bracts which contain very small, separate male and female flowers. For a detailed description click here. Bloom Period: July to October. References: "Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country" by Marshall Enquist. |
BONAP Distribution Map
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Texas Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Euphorbia simulans (Chamaesyce simulans) | USDA PLANTS Symbol |
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| Common Name | Mimicking Sandmat | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. |
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| Family | Euphorbiaceae (Spurge) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Habitat: Clays, sandy, gravelly or rocky soils in desert scrub, mountains, hills, canyons, washes, flats and roadsides; 2000 to 4200 ft.; in the US, found only in Brewster, Presidio and Hudpseth counties of Texas. Plant: Usually prostrate, mat-forming annual or short-lived perennial with fleshy, reddish-green, tangled stems 2 to 16 inches long. Leaves: Opposite, orbiculate, oval, to shortly oblong less than 1/8 to 3/16-inch long with rounded tips and on short petioles less than 1/16-inch long; smooth surfaces and entire margins. Inflorescence: Very small (about 1/16-inch long) cyathia at nodes or stem forks which have bell- or top-shaped cups (involucre) surrounded by 4 red to purple nectar glands with no "appendages"; each cyathium with many staminate flowers (stamens and anthers) and one pistillate flower (the ovary) that is smooth or fuzzy with a protruding stigma with 3 styles, each with 2 whitish lobes. Fruit: Smooth, tiny, broadly oval-shaped, ~1/16-inch long and almost as wide. Bloom Period: April to October. References: "Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas" by Correll and Johnston and Flora of North America. |
BONAP Distribution Map
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Texas Status: Native |
