Weed Information: Euphorbia hypericifolia (spurge, prostrate)
Back to Plant List

Euphorbia hypericifolia (spurge, prostrate)

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Description

There are several species of prostrate annual spurges, and often even the experts can`t tell them apart. However, in this species the densely clustered flowers are relatively unique.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Red (or pink)
  • White
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary cluster
  • Cyme (simple or branched)
Number of Petals
  • 0 (no petals)
  • 3 petals
  • 4 petals
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • sepals lacking
Flower Sex
  • Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • Styles lacking (male flowers only)
  • 3 styles
Number of Stamens
  • stamens lacking (female flowers only)
  • 1 stamen
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
  • 3 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Capsule, 3-celled
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Opposite
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
  • Petiole < 25% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
Leaf Width
  • 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Elliptic
  • Oblong
  • Orbicular (round)
  • Oval
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
  • Oblique
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice milky
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Prostrate
Plant Height at Maturity
  • < 1 cm (< .40 inch)
  • 1 - 5 cm (.40 - 2.0 inches)
  • 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Rooting at the nodes
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Louisiana
  • South Carolina
  • Texas
  • Hawaii
  • Maryland
  • Arizona
  • California
  • New Mexico
  • Oklahoma
Other
  • Puerto Rico
  • Virgin Islands

  • More Turfgrass and Related Weeds: Beyond the Color Atlas, 2011 Clemson University Publishing ISBN# 978-0-9798777-5-9 See Page: 228
  • S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 7 EPHHT
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 92,226,234
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
Back to Plant List