Euphorbia glyptosperma

Ridge-seeded spurge, Ridge-Seeded Spurge

Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Ridge-seeded spurge is a California native annual found in northern California Ranges near Redding in dry ground at elevations of 200 to 300 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces small white petal-like appendages with distinctive cyathia clustered at each node. Growing with prostrate stems that repeatedly fork and develop a two-faced structure, it spreads low across the ground with intricate branching. Its opposite leaves are small, measuring 3 to 15 millimeters long, with ovate to ovate-oblong blades featuring fine teeth and asymmetric bases. The plant produces small ovoid fruits 1.5 to 2 millimeters long, bearing distinctive white to light brown seeds with transverse ridges.

Habitat: Uncommon. Dry ground

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 200-300 m

Bioregions: n CaRF (near Redding)

California counties: Marin, Butte, Yolo, Siskiyou, El Dorado

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