Euphorbia prostrata Aiton

Code

EPHPT

Growth form

broadleaf

Biological cycle

annual

Habitat

terrestrial

Mayotte: Euphorbia prostrata flowers and fruits all year round.

E. prostrata is an annual to slightly perennial weed. It reproduces by seeds.

Euphorbia prostrata can be easily confused with E. forskaolii J.Gay:
E. prostrata is present in the Indian Ocean, India, China and the West Indies; it is recognized by the reduced cupular glands lined with a slender crenate appendix and an ovary bearing a line of long hairs at the three angles whereas E. forskaolii is present in Africa and India. It can be recognized by the large glands of the cup, bordered with white, broad and bilobed appendages, and a fruit entirely covered with a short pubescence.


Among these small euphorbia, Euphorbia hypericifolia L. [synonym: Euphorbia glomerifera (Millsp.) L.C.Wheeler] and Euphorbia hyssopifolia L. are also found; the first has clustered inflorescences and fruit about 1 mm, while the second has looser inflorescences and fruits about 2 mm.

Comoros: Euphorbia prostata is a species that grows very quickly. It is present along the roads, in the courtyards of the houses and in cultivated fields up to an altitude of 700 m. It is observed on Grande Comore,  at Anjouan, and Moheli.
French Guiana: Species localy found on sandy soil.
Madagascar: ruderal and weed widespread throughout the island.
Mauritius: A weed of crops, common along the paths, often on sandy soils.
Mayotte: E. prostrata is an exotic species very commonly naturalized in a wide range of degraded and open environments, villages, cultures, roadsides, from the coast to the altitude and more particularly in the north of the island.
Reunion: ruderal plant that grows along roadsides and in open areas. It is a very heliophilic species that particularly likes sandy soils.
Seychelles: Species clearings and waste places. It is rarely abundant.

Global harmfulness

It occurs in crops and vegetable fields. It has low impact on the ecosystem.

Local harmfulness

Comoros: Euphorbia prostata is a weed of minor harmfulness in cassava crops. It is also present in vegetable cultivations.
French Guiana: Not very frequent and never abundant, it is occasionally found on ridges in vegetable plots. No known harmful effects on crops in French Guiana.
Madagascar: Species of medium frequency, but can be troublesome in vegetable crops.
Mauritius: A weed fairly common in crops, its harmfulness is generally low.
Mayotte: E. prostrata is an infrequent weed in crops (1% of cultivated plots). It is found in vegetable and pineapple crops.
Reunion: It is not encountered in the sugar cane fields.
Seychelles: A weed of low harmfulness.
South Africa: Distributed to the entire part of South Africa, except on the far West and far North East of S.A. This weed occurs in gardens, bare land, lawn and in crops. It is a problematic in citrus orchards.

Medicinal: The aqueous extracts of Euphorbia prostrata could be an effective treatment for typhoid fever.

Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=euphorbia%2520prostrata