Scientific Family
Euphorbiaceae
Synonyms
Euphorbia pediculifera, E. involuta, E. pediculifera var. abramsiana, E. pediculifera var. inornata and more see SEINET.
Other common names
spurge
louse spurge
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
Trailing to 12 inches
Riparian
No
Trailing branches, stout taproot; stems and leaves with sparse, simple, spreading hairs, often red-brown to gray-brown. Flower clusters (cyathia), 1 single female flower and 20 to 25 male flowers in leaf axils and leaf tips, white petal-like appendages.
Single flower clusters in leaf axils and tips of branches; petal-like appendages white, showy, glands reddish-purple, male flowers 20 to 25; leaves 2 times longer than wide, bases asymmetrical; fruit capsules hairy; seeds oblong, circled by 4 to 5 ridges.
Habitat
Found on sandy flats and on gentle slopes.
Plant Community
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
0
High elevation
4500
Flower Characteristics
Single clusters of male and female flowers (cyathia) in leaf axils, tips of stems. Male flowers 20 to 25, surround a single stalked female flower, which has white petal-like appendages, reddish-purple glands; appendages wider and longer than the glands.
Flower color
White, reddish-purple
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
January
Last bloom month
December
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Oblong, 2 times longer than wide, short-stemmed, to 3/4 inch long, hairy to no hairs, tips pointed, margins smooth or with a few teeth; stipules (leaf-like appendage at a base of leaf) thread-like.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Sharply 3-angled, hairy, protruding from flower clusters and bent backwards at maturity.
Fruit type
Capsule
White, slender,oblong, 3-angled to almost round in cross section, 4 to 5 ridges encircling seeds.