Prostrate annuals, often forming a dense mat, with dark green opposite leaves, 1/8 to 1/2 inch long and 1/8 inch wide. Stems exude a milky latex juice when broken. The tiny pinkish flowers consist only of stamens and pistils and are grouped into small flower-like clusters in the leaf axils. The three-lobed seed pods are 1/16 inch or less long. The oblong seeds are about 1/25 inch long.
There are three commonly found species in the western United States. Spotted spurge (E. maculata L.) has hairy stems and leaves with a large purple spot on each leaf. Ground spurge (E. prostrata Ait.) has hairy stems and leaves but no purple spot. Ridgeseed spurge (E. glyptosperma Engelm.) has entire leaf margins with smooth stems and leaves and seeds which are coarsely trans-corrugated. |
