Euphorbia serpens

Matted sandmat, Matted Sandmat

Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Matted sandmat is a naturalized annual herb found in the southern San Joaquin Valley, central Coast Ranges, southern coastal ranges, and southwestern California in disturbed areas at elevations below 750 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces white petal-like appendages surrounding tiny dark red-purple glands in small clusters. Growing with prostrate stems that root at the nodes and repeatedly fork in a two-faced pattern, it spreads across the ground in a low, mat-like form. Its opposite leaves are small, measuring 2 to 7 millimeters long, with ovate to oblong blades that have asymmetric bases and obtuse tips. The fruit is a small spheric, lobed structure less than 1.5 millimeters long, producing white to brown seeds with smooth, four-angled surfaces.

Habitat: Disturbed areas

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: < 750 m

Bioregions: SnJV, CCo, s SCoR, SW, expected elsewhere

California counties: Ventura, Orange, San Bernardino, Imperial, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Yolo, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Contra Costa, Tulare, Monterey

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