User:TRHblue/sandbox

Euphorbia maculata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Genus:	Euphorbia
Species:	E. maculata
Binomial name
	Euphorbia maculata; L.
Synonyms
	Chamaesyce maculata (L.) Small

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Wikipedia:WikiProject Plants/Template

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Questions:

should I include subg. Chamaesyce, sect. Anisophyllum in taxobox / how

past uses -- not medical advice -- how to make that clear bc bitch it's poison

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To Do:

find a global distribution map, if such exists

collaborate with Nathan Taylor on taxonomy section

check non-paywalled journals, eg American Journal of Botany

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before adding any new section to mainspace:

add links

add synonym redirects

add categories

get someone ELSE to copyedit

original uses British English.

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%find citation%

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{{Short description|Species of sandmat (sect. Anisophyllum) in Genus Euphorbia}}

Euphorbia maculata, variously called spotted spurge[3] or prostrate spurge, (the latter name not to be confused with Euphorbia prostrata), is a mat-forming annual plant in the family Euphorbiaceae,[3] native to %southwestern% North America. It is a common garden and lawn weed in the United States, %and is spreading to countries worldwide%.

It grows in sunny locations and a variety of soils, and functions as a pioneer species in ecological succession. The sap of this plant is a mild skin irritant and can cause a rash in some people. The sap is poisonous and considered carcinogenic.^[1]^[2]

Description

%Euphorbia maculata is typically prostrate, with specimens rarely reaching up as high as 30 centimetres (12 in). The stems spread out in a mat along the ground with each stem rarely greater than 45 centimetres (18 in) long. The leaves are oval but rather elongate, up to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long, and arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers are very small, with four white petals that quickly fade to pink.

The leaves often are marked with a %It's Not Fucking Black It's Maroon% dash in the center, a feature that led to the common name of spotted spurge.%[1 or 2]

annual [3]

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goal here: distinguish the taxon.

plain English

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Morphology

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General appearance:

Growth pattern: %rapid split, spreads%

Habit:

Size overall, size of parts:

Cyathium and fruit quick summary:

Its fruit and seeds:

Its roots:

Lifespan: %highly variable depending on conditions%

Annual: yes

Herbaceous: yes

Resprouts after fire or cutting:

Hairiness:

Light requirements:

Water requirements:

Vegetative or seed growth primarily:

Changes over lifetime of plant: %once it matures, sets fruit continuously, and as death approaches expends all remaining resources to its remaining fruit turns red and dies%

response to environmental changes:

A quick description for those unfamiliar -- put above tbh.

Use of c4 path, and the resulting interesting patterns:

Uneven leaves:

Root: fibrous, ca. 2 mm thick [5]

Stem: prostrate, repeatedly forking, 2-faced, hairy. [4] 10-17 cm tall [5] Stems many from base, prostrate, ca. 1 mm thick, sparsely white pilose [5]

Leaf: opposite throughout, 2-ranked, subsessile; stipules free, fringed; blade 4--17 mm, ovate to oblong, finely toothed, generally with +- red spot, hairy or becoming glabrous; base asymmetric, tip acute to obtuse. [4] Leaves opposite; stipules forming prickles, ciliate; petiole ca. 1 mm; leaf blade long elliptic to reniform-oblong, 6-12(-30) × 2-4(-13) mm, adaxially green, often with an oblong purple spot in middle, abaxially light green or gray-green, purple spot easily seen when fresh, invisible when dry, both surfaces glabrous, base obliquely slightly attenuate-rounded, margin entire below middle, finely serrulate above, apex obtuse. [5]

Inflorescence: cyathia 1 per node or densely clustered on short, lateral branches; involucre < 1 mm, obconic, hairy; glands 4, < 0.5 mm, transversely elliptic; petal-like appendage +- as wide as gland, scalloped, white to pink. [4] Cyathia from nodes, peduncle 1-2 mm; involucre narrowly cuplike, 0.7-1 × ca. 0.5 mm, white pubescent outside, marginal lobes 5, triangular-rounded; glands 4, yellow-green, transversely elliptic, appendages white. [5]

Staminate Flower: 2--5. [4] Male flowers 4 or 5, slightly exserted. [5]

Pistillate Flower: styles forked 1/4--1/3. [4] Female flower exserted from involucre; ovary pilose; styles short, con-nate at base; stigma 2-lobed.[5]

Fruit: < 1.5 mm, ovoid, lobed, strigose. [4] Capsule 3-angular-ovoid, ca. 2 × 2 mm, smooth, sparsely pilose. [5]

Seed: < 1.5 mm, ovoid, 4-angled, transversely wrinkled, light brown; knob 0. [4] Seeds ovoid-tetragonal, ca. 1 × 0.7 mm, gray or gray-brown, each side with 5 transverse furrows; caruncle absent. [5]

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redirect to Similar Species section at some pt? idk

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Phytochemistry

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Pigments / colouration:

Toxins / sap:

Chemical interactions with soil and other plants:

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Similar Species

It is similar to Euphorbia prostrata, the usual species called prostrate spurge, but that species has shorter leaves that are more rounded at the tips. It may occasionally be confused with Euphorbia serpens but the very short and rounded leaves of E. serpens in combination with the much larger (but still inconspicuous) flowers should remove any potential for confusion.

E prostrata:

E serpens:

E thymifolia:

E nutans / hyssopifolia / hypericifolia:

E serpillifolia:

E glyptosperma:

E humistrata:

Portulaca oleracea:

Polygonum aviculare:

Taxonomy

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Topics to include in this section would usually include taxonomic history, modern taxonomic classification, the characteristics that define the taxon, its phylogeny, the taxonomic subdivision of the taxon where applicable and the etymological derivation of the taxon's nomenclature.

Wikipedia:WikiProject Plants/Template#Taxonomy

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I'm leaving this section for Nathan tbh

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Euphorbia maculata is in subgenus Chamaesyce, section Anisophyllum %.

Distribution and Habitat

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Origin:

Native:

Naturalized:

Invasive:

Elevation range:

Climactic range:

Soil types:

Growth density:

Associated plants: %few bc it tries to kill them%

Distibution range is: %shifting, expanding rapidly%

Rarity: %common

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low water tolerant [3]

elevation 0 to 1450 m [3]

Elevation: < 2000 m [4]

annual precipitation 20 to 196 cm [3]

wet season 0 to 8 months [3]

temperature range (california) 12 to 35 C [3]

accumulated temperature (california) 23 to 179 ° C [3]

SOIL: pH5.5 to 8.6 Max Salinity 7.7 mmhos / cm (slightly saline) Min Depth 2 inches 5 cm Texture(s):fine + medium + coarse Max CaCO3 3 % (very low) Min AWS0.6 cm [3]

Ecology: Disturbed places;[4]

Distribution Outside California: native to eastern United States [4] Grasslands, roadsides, naturalized. Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Taiwan, Zhejiang [Asia, Europe, North America].[5]

Ecology

Life cycle and seasonal changes:

Symbiotic relationships:

Flowering times:

Fruiting times:

Pollination mechanisms:

Reaction to fire, drought, drowning:

Invasive, allelopathic:

Use by other species:

Hybridisation:

blooms:

California: June-Aug [3]

Jepson: Apr-Oct [4]

China: Apr-Sep. [5]

Pests and diseases

Discuss parasites, pests and diseases. What animals or other plants feed on it? If sufficient material, subheadings could include viruses, bacteria, fungi and animals (see Narcissus).

Known diseases:

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Conservation / As an Invasive Species and weed

Status as an invasive species: known occurrences outside naturalized range, and places it has been declared noxious:

Uses

past uses:

theoretical uses?

References

^ Candice Miller. "Plants That Cause Skin Irritation" (PDF). University of Illinois Extension. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
^ "Prostrate spurge". CSU/Denver County Extension. Retrieved September 18, 2014.