Prostrate sandmat (Euphorbia prostrata, Hort. Kew. 2: 139 (1789))

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Author: Aiton

Bibliography: Hort. Kew. 2: 139 (1789)

Year: 1789

Status: accepted

Rank: species

Genus: Euphorbia

Vegetable: Unknown

Observations: C. & S. U.S.A. to Trop. & Subtrop. America

Description

Prostrate sandmat, scientifically known as Euphorbia prostrata, is a member of the Euphorbiaceae family. First described by Aiton in 1789 in Hortus Kewensis (Vol. 2, pg. 139), this plant has since been recognized for its widespread distribution and adaptability.

Native to Central and Southern United States as well as tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, Euphorbia prostrata thrives in a variety of environments. It is typically found growing in disturbed sites such as roadsides, gardens, and agricultural fields, where it can often be seen sprawling close to the ground, forming dense mats.

These characteristics, along with its ability to colonize and persist in a range of habitats, make Prostrate sandmat a resilient and sometimes invasive species. It is characterized by its small size, slender stems, and tiny leaves, which often exhibit a reddish tinge. The plant’s inconspicuous flowers are also minute and nestled within its leafy bracts, a common trait within the Euphorbiaceae family.

In terms of its uses and ecological role, Prostrate sandmat not only contributes to the diversity of plant life in its native and introduced ranges, but it has also been noted for certain traditional medicinal applications, particularly in local herbal medicine practices. However, its invasive potential means that it may sometimes outcompete native vegetation, posing a challenge for conservationists aiming to maintain natural plant communities.

Despite its unobtrusive appearance, the ecological impact and adaptive nature of Prostrate sandmat highlight its significance within the ecosystems it inhabits. Therefore, ongoing observation and study of Euphorbia prostrata are crucial for understanding and managing its presence in both native and introduced environments.

Common Names

Deu: hingestreckte zwergwolfsmilch, hingestreckte wolfsmilch
Eng: prostrate sandmat, blue weed, ground spurge, prostrate spurge
Dan: tiltrykt vortemælk
Nld: geribde wolfsmelk
Swe: sandtörel
En: Prostrate sandmat, Blue weed, Ground spurge, Prostrate spurge, Green Creeping Spurge, Prostrate Broomspurge
Ar: لبين (لِبين)، لبينه (لِبيْنه)
Ca: Lleterola protrada
Da: Tiltrykt vortemælk
Nl: Geribde wolfsmelk
Fr: Euphorbe prostrée
De: Hingestreckte Wolfsmilch, Hingestreckte Zwergwolfsmilch, Niederliegende Wolfsmilch
He: חלבלוב פושט
It: Euforbia prostrata
Sv: Sandtörel

Synonyms

• Euphorbia tenella (Kunth)
• Euphorbia prostrata var. caudirhiza (Fosberg)
• Aplarina prostrata ((Aiton) Raf.)
• Chamaesyce malaca (Small)
• Euphorbia ramosa var. villosior (Greenm.)
• Chamaesyce prostrata ((Aiton) Small)
• Euphorbia prostrata var. vestita (Engelm. ex Boiss.)
• Anisophyllum prostratum ((Aiton) Haw.)
• Euphorbia malaca ((Small) Little)
• Euphorbia callitrichoides (Kunth)
• Chamaesyce villosior ((Greenm.) Millsp.)
• Tithymalus prostratus ((Aiton) Samp.)
• Euphorbia trichogona (Bertol.)

Distribution

• Alabama (native)
• Argentina Northeast (native)
• Argentina Northwest (native)
• Arizona (native)
• Arkansas (native)
• Bahamas (native)
• Belize (native)
• Bermuda (native)
• Bolivia (native)
• Brazil Northeast (native)
• Brazil South (native)
• Brazil Southeast (native)
• Cayman Is. (native)
• Colombia (native)
• Colorado (native)
• Costa Rica (native)
• Cuba (native)
• Dominican Republic (native)
• Ecuador (native)
• Florida (native)
• French Guiana (native)
• Georgia (native)
• Guatemala (native)
• Guyana (native)
• Haiti (native)
• Honduras (native)
• Jamaica (native)
• Kansas (native)
• Leeward Is. (native)
• Louisiana (native)
• Mexico Central (native)
• Mexico Gulf (native)
• Mexico Northeast (native)
• Mexico Northwest (native)
• Mexico Southeast (native)
• Mexico Southwest (native)
• Mississippi (native)
• Missouri (native)
• Nebraska (native)
• Netherlands Antilles (native)
• New Mexico (native)
• Nicaragua (native)
• North Carolina (native)
• Oklahoma (native)
• Peru (native)
• Puerto Rico (native)
• South Carolina (native)
• South Dakota (native)
• Suriname (native)
• Texas (native)
• Trinidad-Tobago (native)
• Turks-Caicos Is. (native)
• Venezuela (native)
• Venezuelan Antilles (native)
• Windward Is. (native)
• Albania (introduced)
• Aldabra (introduced)
• Algeria (introduced)
• Andaman Is. (introduced)
• Angola (introduced)
• Ascension (introduced)
• Assam (introduced)
• Austria (introduced)
• Azores (introduced)
• Bangladesh (introduced)
• Benin (introduced)
• Botswana (introduced)
• Bulgaria (introduced)
• Burkina (introduced)
• Burundi (introduced)
• California (introduced)
• Cameroon (introduced)
• Canary Is. (introduced)
• Cape Verde (introduced)
• Caroline Is. (introduced)
• Chad (introduced)
• Chagos Archipelago (introduced)
• China South-Central (introduced)
• China Southeast (introduced)
• Christmas I. (introduced)
• Cocos (Keeling) Is. (introduced)
• Comoros (introduced)
• Congo (introduced)
• Cook Is. (introduced)
• Corse (introduced)
• Cyprus (introduced)
• Czechoslovakia (introduced)
• Djibouti (introduced)
• East Aegean Is. (introduced)
• East Himalaya (introduced)
• Eritrea (introduced)
• Ethiopia (introduced)
• Fiji (introduced)
• France (introduced)
• Free State (introduced)
• Gabon (introduced)
• Germany (introduced)
• Ghana (introduced)
• Gilbert Is. (introduced)
• Greece (introduced)
• Guinea (introduced)
• Guinea-Bissau (introduced)
• Gulf of Guinea Is. (introduced)
• Gulf States (introduced)
• Hainan (introduced)
• Hawaii (introduced)
• Hungary (introduced)
• Illinois (introduced)
• India (introduced)
• Indiana (introduced)
• Iowa (introduced)
• Iran (introduced)
• Italy (introduced)
• Ivory Coast (introduced)
• Japan (introduced)
• Kentucky (introduced)
• Kriti (introduced)
• Krym (introduced)
• Lesser Sunda Is. (introduced)
• Liberia (introduced)
• Line Is. (introduced)
• Madeira (introduced)
• Malawi (introduced)
• Marcus I. (introduced)
• Marianas (introduced)
• Marquesas (introduced)
• Marshall Is. (introduced)
• Maryland (introduced)
• Masachusettes (introduced)
• Michigan (introduced)
• Mozambique (introduced)
• Nansei-shoto (introduced)
• Nauru (introduced)
• Nepal (introduced)
• New Caledonia (introduced)
• New South Wales (introduced)
• Nicobar Is. (introduced)
• Nigeria (introduced)
• Niue (introduced)
• Norfolk Is. (introduced)
• Northern Territory (introduced)
• Ogasawara-shoto (introduced)
• Ohio (introduced)
• Pakistan (introduced)
• Palestine (introduced)
• Pennsylvania (introduced)
• Phoenix Is. (introduced)
• Portugal (introduced)
• Queensland (introduced)
• Romania (introduced)
• Rwanda (introduced)
• Samoa (introduced)
• Sardegna (introduced)
• Senegal (introduced)
• Seychelles (introduced)
• Sicilia (introduced)
• Sierra Leone (introduced)
• Society Is. (introduced)
• South China Sea (introduced)
• Spain (introduced)
• St.Helena (introduced)
• Sudan (introduced)
• Sulawesi (introduced)
• Switzerland (introduced)
• Taiwan (introduced)
• Tennessee (introduced)
• Thailand (introduced)
• Togo (introduced)
• Tokelau-Manihiki (introduced)
• Tonga (introduced)
• Tuamotu (introduced)
• Tubuai Is. (introduced)
• Ukraine (introduced)
• Utah (introduced)
• Virginia (introduced)
• Wake I. (introduced)
• West Himalaya (introduced)
• West Virginia (introduced)
• Western Australia (introduced)
• Wyoming (introduced)
• Yugoslavia (introduced)
• Zambia (introduced)
• Zaïre (introduced)
• Zimbabwe (introduced)

Additional Images

Leaf

Taken Dec 14, 2021 by Magnun Paula Pereira (cc-by-sa)

Taken Oct 30, 2019 by Natalia Garzón (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 20, 2021 by Mirek Nešpor (cc-by-sa)

Taken Oct 12, 2019 by France tictac40 (cc-by-sa)

Taken Nov 21, 2021 by Llandrich anna (cc-by-sa)

© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Habit

Taken Oct 23, 2014 by Tela Botanica − Marie PORTAS (cc-by-sa)

Taken May 30, 2017 by Tela Botanica − Sylvain PIRY (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jul 7, 2021 by Seyed M. Fatemi (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 2, 2017 by Llandrich anna (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 14, 2020 by Emanuele Santarelli (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Taken May 30, 2017 by Tela Botanica − Sylvain PIRY (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jul 16, 2018 by Tela Botanica − Liliane Roubaudi (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jul 16, 2018 by Tela Botanica − Liliane Roubaudi (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 14, 2020 by Emanuele Santarelli (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 1, 2015 by Tela Botanica − Marie PORTAS (cc-by-sa)

Bark

Taken Oct 2, 2021 by P. Martin (cc-by-sa)

Taken Apr 9, 2019 by Ribeiro Jose (cc-by-sa)

Taken Oct 3, 2019 by Fontanet Pau (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 20, 2015 by Tela Botanica − Jean-Claude BOUZAT (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 2, 2017 by Llandrich anna (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Taken Aug 1, 2020 by ChiaRoby (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jul 24, 2018 by Hugo SANTACREU (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 2, 2017 by Llandrich anna (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jul 21, 2017 by Tela Botanica − Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 3, 2018 by Bernardi Fausto (cc-by-sa)

Other

Taken Jun 28, 2015 by Tela Botanica − pef (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 20, 2015 by Tela Botanica − Jean-Claude BOUZAT (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 1, 2015 by Tela Botanica − Marie PORTAS (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 1, 2015 by Tela Botanica − Marie PORTAS (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jul 7, 2021 by Seyed M. Fatemi (cc-by-sa)

Sources

• WFO (No URL)
• IPNI (No URL)
• GBIF (https://www.gbif.org/species/3067891)
• POWO (http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:101913-2)
• PlantNet (https://identify.plantnet.org/species/the-plant-list/Euphorbia prostrata Aiton)

Specifications

Growth