Euphorbia serpens Kunth
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Pertinent Synonyms & Notes (particularly those used in California; go to GRIN for other synonyms)
Chamaesyce serpens (Kunth) Small
Pertinent Common Names (particularly those used in California; go to GRIN for other common names)
creeping spurge
Primary Disseminule Type
seed
Description (diagnostics are in brown)
Fruit a capsule, nearly globose, three-lobed, three-chambered (one seed per chamber), 1–1.5 mm long, glabrous.
Seed ovoid to oblong in outline, cross-section ± 4-sided, truncate at chalazal end, 0.9–1.2 mm long x 0.5–0.7 mm wide. Surface semiglossy, glabrous, smooth (cobblestone-like to minutely granular under magnification), white with purplish- to orangish-brown undertones. Caruncle absent. A prominent seam (raphe) on the ventral side connects the hilum to a faintly visible ring in the chalazal area.
Hilum darker than testa, ± round to ovate grading into raphe.
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, NZBORIC, NZBPI