Code
EPHPT
Growth form
broadleaf
Biological cycle
annual
Habitat
terrestrial
synonym | Anisophyllum prostratum (Aiton) Haw. |
synonym | Aplarina prostrata (Aiton) Raf. |
synonym | Chamaesyce malaca Small |
synonym | Chamaesyce prostrata (Aiton) Small |
synonym | Chamaesyce villosior (Greenm.) Millsp. |
synonym | Euphorbia callitrichoides Kunth |
synonym | Euphorbia malaca (Small) Little |
synonym | Euphorbia perforata Guss. |
synonym | Euphorbia prostrata var. caudirhiza Fosberg |
synonym | Euphorbia prostrata var. vestita Engelm. ex Boiss. |
synonym | Euphorbia ramosa var. villosior Greenm. |
synonym | Euphorbia tenella Kunth |
synonym | Euphorbia trichogona Bertol. |
synonym | Tithymalus prostratus (Aiton) Samp. |
Afrikaans |
|
Anglais / English |
|
Comorian |
|
Créole Maurice |
|
Créole Réunion |
|
Créole Seychelles |
|
Malgache |
|
Other |
|
Global description
Euphorbia prostrata is a small plant spread on the ground. The opposite leaves are purple-green in colour. The slender branches are numerous, extensively branched. It exudes a white milk when cut. The inflorescence is insignificant. The cup is lined with 4 small oval glands with crenellated reduced appendages. The ovary is long hairy only along the angles.
Cotyledons
Cotyledons are oval orbicular with emarginated apex, fleshy and subsessile, of dark green color on the upper side and purple on the underside. They are long of 1 to 2 mm.
First leaves
The first leaves are simple, opposite, subsessile to obovate in shape, with asymmetrical rounded base and rounded apex. They are glabrous, green, tinged with purple, margin entire or finely denticulate.
General habit
Plant with prostrate growth habit; prostrate stems can measure 10 to 20 cm. The plant forms circular patches at the surface of the soil.
Underground system
The plant has a taproot system.
Stem
The stems are lying, slender, red or reddish in color, 10 to 20 cm long, and does not take roots at the nodes. They are cylindrical, smooth except for a row of fine and short hairs on the upper side of the young branches. The slender branches are numerous, extensively branched. It releases a white milk when cut.
Leaf
The leaves are opposite, subsessile, oblong, elliptical or obovate in shape, dark green to reddish green in colour. The stipules are fine, broadly triangular, cilliate, long of 0.5 to 1 mm. The lamina is asymmetric at the base and rounded or obtuse at the top. It measures 3 to 11 mm long and 2 to 5 mm wide. The margin is entire at the base, serrated in the terminal portion. The lamina is shortly pubescent on the underside, glabrous on the upper face and sometimes stained with brown at the base of the upper face.
Inflorescence
The inflorescence is very small with greenish flowers grouped in cyme in small cups that measures 0.6 mm, axillary, whose peduncles are 0.6 to 2 mm long. Each cup is lined with 4 purple glands fringed with a small flat rose appendage crenellated. The cup consist of some male flowers reduced to a stamen and a female flower reduced to an ovary of 3 loculus, hanging at the end of the cup. The ovary is long hairy only along the angles.
Fruit
The fruit is a trilocular hanging capsule, with a diameter of 1 to 1.4 mm, glabrous except for the center lines which has a fringe of hairs. Contains 3 seeds.
Seed
The seed is ovoid to rectangular, greyish, 1 mm long, having transverse wrinkles.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Mayotte: Euphorbia prostrata flowers and fruits all year round.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
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.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
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.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Euphorbia prostrata is native to Tropical America.
Worldwide distribution
E. prostata is a cosmopolitan pantropical ruderal species in association with Euphorbia hirta. It is also common in Europe.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
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.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=euphorbia%2520prostrata
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Root | Root |
Kingdom | Plantae |
Phylum | Tracheophyta |
Class | Magnoliopsida |
Order | Malpighiales |
Family | Euphorbiaceae |
Genus | Euphorbia |
Species | Euphorbia prostrata Aiton |