Prostrate spurge
August 10, 2015
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EmailChamaesyce humistrata (Engelm. ex Gray) Small
Life cycle
Prostrate summer annual.
Prostrate spurge plant.
Leaves
Cotyledons are oval with maroon undersides and short petioles. Opposite, pale green, egg-shaped leaves with rounded tips have small, irregular teeth along the margins and short petioles. The upper leaf surface often has a maroon watermark.
Prostrate spurge seedling.
Stems
Prostrate, densely hairy stems are highly branched from the base, forming circular mats up to 16 inches in diameter. Stems may root at the lower nodes and exude a milky sap when damaged.
Milky sap of prostrate spurge.
Flowers and fruit
Inconspicuous flowers are formed in the leaf axils. Fruit are hairy, three-lobed capsules that contain three wrinkled, three-sided, pale brown seeds.
Prostrate spurge fruit.
Reproduction
Seeds.
Similar weeds
Spotted spurge [Chamaesyce maculata (L.) Small] Differs by having stems that do not root at the nodes, narrow oval to oblong leaves, and ridged, not wrinkled, seeds.
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