Euphorbia pediculifera
Carrizo mountain sandmat, Carrizo Mountain Sandmat
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Euphorbia pediculifera (Carrizo mountain sandmat) is a native California herb in the Euphorbiaceae family, recognized by dark glands and deeply divided appendages distinctive.
Carrizo mountain sandmat is a California native perennial found in the southern desert regions on dry slopes at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from January to April, this plant produces white petal-like appendages surrounding dark red to nearly black glands on small involucres. Growing with prostrate to erect stems that repeatedly fork and are two-faced, it spreads with a distinctive branching habit. Its opposite leaves are subsessile, ranging from 2 to 20 millimeters long, with ovate to spoon-shaped blades that have asymmetric bases and acute to rounded tips. The fruit is a small 2-millimeter ovoid structure with lobes and hairy surface.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 18 sympatric species; dark glands and deeply divided appendages distinctive
Habitat and range
Habitat: Uncommon. Dry slopes
Elevation: < 500 m
California counties: Imperial, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Cruz
Outside California: Arizona, Mexico
Bloom period
Euphorbia pediculifera blooms Jan-Apr.
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 pediculifera native to California?
Yes. Euphorbia pediculifera is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Euphorbia pediculifera bloom?
Euphorbia pediculifera blooms Jan-Apr.
Where in California does Euphorbia pediculifera grow?
Euphorbia pediculifera occurs in Imperial, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Cruz, at elevations of < 500 m.
What plant family does Euphorbia pediculifera belong to?
Euphorbia pediculifera is in the Euphorbiaceae family, genus Euphorbia.
What habitat does Euphorbia pediculifera grow in?
Euphorbia pediculifera grows in Uncommon. Dry slopes.
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.