prostrate sandmat

Euphorbia prostrata is an annual herb producing slender prostrate stems up to approximately 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long, sometimes purple-tinted in color. The oval-shaped leaves are up to one centimetre (0.39 in) long with finely toothed edges. The inflorescence is a cyathium less than two millimetres (0.079 in) wide, with white petal-like appendages surrounding the actual flowers. There are four male flowers and a single female flower, the latter developing into a lobed, hairy fruit one to two millimetres (0.039 to 0.079 in) wide. E. prostrata is similar to both Euphorbia maculata and Euphorbia serpens, but is often hairy on the leaves and stems, while the latter two species are often smooth. It differs from E. maculata by its less elongated and less lanceolate leaves. E. serpens by contrast has much more rounded leaves than E. prostrata with relatively larger and more conspicuous flowers. The flowers of E. prostrata do not typically show the white "petals" seen in E. serpens or E. maculata and thus flowers are hard to detect in the former species. Only E. maculata shows dark spots in the center of each leaf, but this is not always present in that species.