''Euphorbia maculata'', known as spotted spurge, prostrate spurge (not to be confused with ''

Euphorbia prostrata ''Euphorbia prostrata'' is a species of spurge known by the common name prostrate spurge or prostrate sandmat. It is native to the Caribbean and certain parts of South America. It is widely naturalized in many other parts of the world, where it ...

''), ''milk purslane'', or ''spotted sandmat'', is a fast-growing

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...

in the family

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ...

. While it is native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, where it is a common garden and lawn weed in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, it has become a common

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

throughout the world, including

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

It grows in sunny locations and a variety of soils, and functions as a

pioneer species Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so m ...

ecological succession Ecological succession is the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. The time scale can be decades (for example, after a wildfire) or more or less. Bacteria allows for the cycling of nutrients such as ca ...

. The sap of this plant is a mild skin irritant and can cause a rash in some people. The sap is poisonous and considered carcinogenic.

Description

''Euphorbia maculata'' is typically prostrate, with specimens rarely reaching up as high as . The stems spread out in a mat along the ground with each stem rarely greater than long. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are oval but rather elongate, up to long, and arranged in opposite pairs. The

cyathia A cyathium (plural: cyathia) is one of the specialised pseudanthia ("false flowers") forming the inflorescence of plants in the genus ''Euphorbia'' (Euphorbiaceae). A cyathium consists of: * Five (rarely four) bracteoles. These are small, uni ...

, bisexual reproductive structures unique to plants in the genus, are very small, with four white petal-like appendages that are sometimes pink. The leaves are often marked with a reddish spot in the center, a feature that led to the common name of spotted spurge. It is similar to ''

'', but that species has shorter leaves that are more rounded at the tips. It may occasionally be confused with ''

Euphorbia serpens ''Euphorbia serpens'' is a species of ''Euphorbia'' known by the common name matted sandmat. It is native to South America but it can be found on most continents as an introduced species and often a weed. This is an annual herb forming a mat of p ...

'' but the very short and rounded leaves of ''E. serpens'' in combination with the larger (but still inconspicuous) cyathia should remove any potential for confusion.

References

*Missouriplants
''Euphorbia maculata''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q177322 maculata Flora of North America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus