Euphorbia fendleri
Fendler's sandmat, Fendler's Sandmat
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Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: Subshrub · Native
Euphorbia fendleri (Fendler's sandmat) is a native California subshrub in the Euphorbiaceae family, recognized by free linear stipules and appendage shape diagnostic.
Fendler's sandmat is a California native perennial found in the White and Inyo Mountains and Desert Mountains in dry woodland slopes at elevations of 1,500 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces white petal-like appendages surrounding small cyathia with delicate scalloped edges. Growing with decumbent stems that repeatedly fork and create a distinctive two-faced profile, it spreads low across the ground in an intricate branching pattern. Its opposite leaves are small, two to eleven millimeters long, with ovate blades having asymmetric bases and acute to obtuse tips. The fruit is a small ovoid structure two to two and a half millimeters long, producing white, four-angled seeds with smooth to slightly wrinkled surfaces.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 13 sympatric species; free linear stipules and appendage shape diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: Uncommon. Dry slopes, woodland
Elevation: 1500-2300 m
California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo
Outside California: to Nebraska, Texas, Mexico
Bloom period
Euphorbia fendleri blooms May-Oct.
How to tell it apart
vs Croton: Euphorbia bleeds milky white latex and packs its flowers into a tiny cup (cyathium) rimmed with nectar glands; Croton has watery sap, stellate or scaly hairs, and ordinary small separate male and female flowers.; vs Stillingia: Euphorbia flowers sit in a gland-bearing cyathium; Stillingia bears its flowers in a spike with a pair of glands flanking each subtending bract and has no cyathium cup.; vs Ditaxis: Euphorbia has latex and the cyathium; Ditaxis has clear sap, 5-parted petaled male and female flowers, and 2-forked (malpighiaceous) hairs.; vs Asclepias: Both ooze milky sap, but Euphorbia's minute flowers cluster in a cyathium and ripen into a 3-lobed capsule; milkweeds have showy 5-parted flowers with a crown and paired follicles of plumed seeds.; vs Polygonum: Prostrate mat spurges leak milky sap when torn and have paired stipules with opposite leaves at the nodes; knotweeds have clear sap and a papery sheath (ocrea) wrapping each node.
Frequently asked questions
Is Euphorbia fendleri native to California?
Yes. Euphorbia fendleri is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Euphorbia fendleri bloom?
Euphorbia fendleri blooms May-Oct.
Where in California does Euphorbia fendleri grow?
Euphorbia fendleri occurs in San Bernardino, Inyo, at elevations of 1500-2300 m.
What plant family does Euphorbia fendleri belong to?
Euphorbia fendleri is in the Euphorbiaceae family, genus Euphorbia.
What habitat does Euphorbia fendleri grow in?
Euphorbia fendleri grows in Uncommon. Dry slopes, woodland.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.