Spotted Spurge

Euphorbiaceae

LIFE FORM: Annual

NATIVITY: Eastern North America

VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS:

Mat-forming plant that can grow to 2 feet across; opposite leaves marked with a maroon blotch; stems and foliage exude milky sap when broken.

FLOWERS:

Inconspicuous flowers bloom July to September.

FRUIT/DISPERSAL AGENTS:

Self-sows readily.

ECOLOGICAL PREFERENCE:

Grows best in the full sun. Prefers trampled lawns in public parks; neglected residential and commercial landscapes; minimally maintained public parks and open space; vacant lots and rubble dump sites; abandoned grasslands (meadows); small-scale pavement openings (tree pits) and cracks; rock outcrops and stone walls.

ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION:

Disturbance-adapted colonizer.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:

A weed of summer that disappears with the first frost; variable in size depending upon habitat.