Euphorbia maculata L.
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Pertinent Synonyms & Notes (particularly those used in California; go to GRIN for other synonyms)
Chamaesyce maculata (L.) Small
Pertinent Common Names (particularly those used in California; go to GRIN for other common names)
spotted spurge
Primary Disseminule Type
seed
Description (diagnostics are in brown)
Fruit a capsule, ovoid, three-lobed, three-chambered (one seed per chamber), 1–1.5 mm long, strigose, keels sharp.
Seed ovoid to oblong in outline, 4-sided, not compressed, truncate at chalazal end, 0.7–1.2 mm long x 0.4–1 mm wide. Surface semiglossy (sparkly under magnification), glabrous, cobblestone-like to minutely pitted (seen under magnification), whitish-gray to light brown, rugulose (typically with rounded transverse wrinkles). Caruncle absent. A prominent seam (raphe) on the ventral side connects the hilum to the chalazal area.
Hilum ± round grading into the raphe, sometimes with attached funicular remnant.
Similar Species
Similar Species Comparison Chart
Risk Assessment (codes in yellow or red indicate cause for concern; assessments are current as of mid-2011; click AUQP, NZBORIC, or NZBPI for access to the most recent versions of these databases and possible assessment changes)
AUQP, AUWP, NZBORIC, NZBPI