Euphorbia arizonica

Arizona spurge, Arizona Spurge

Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Arizona spurge is a rare California native (CNPS 2B.3) perennial found in the southern desert region in sandy flats at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces white to pink flowers in small involucres less than 2 millimeters wide with distinctive petal-like appendages. Growing with prostrate to erect stems that repeatedly fork and appear two-faced, it spreads in a complex branching pattern. Its opposite leaves are arranged two-ranked, with small ovate blades 2 to 10 millimeters long, featuring asymmetric bases and acute tips. The fruit is a small spheric, lobed structure less than 2 millimeters wide, covered in glandular hairs.

Habitat: Sandy flats

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: DSon

California counties: San Diego

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.