Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

PRAIRIE SPURGE

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Chamaesyce missurica (Raf. ) Shinners

[=Euphorbia missurica Raf.]

Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas

Annual

Height: 6-36 inches

Family: Euphorbiaceae - Spurge Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August

Also Called:

Missouri spurge.

Stems:

Decumbent to nearly erect, often curved or arched, much branched above; branches slender, wiry, glabrous.

Leaves:

Opposite, mid-stem leaves linear to oblong, .5 to 1.25 inch long and less than .2 inch wide, glabrous; margins entire; mid-vein prominent; tip rounded, truncate or notched, sometimes with short, slender point or awn; base narrowed; short-stalked.

Inflorescences:

Small, cup-like receptacles, solitary in upper leaf axils or appearing cyme-like.

Flowers:

Unisexual, on long stalks; 4 glands subtended by appendages which are white or pink, less than 1/10 inch long, sometimes notched; staminate flowers 24-53 per receptacle; pistillate flower 1.

Fruits:

Capsule, 3-lobed, 1/12 to 1/10 inch long; seeds egg-shaped, white or brown, smooth to wrinkled.

Habitat:

Dry prairies, waste areas, roadsides, and open woodlands; rocky or sandy soils.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Prairie spurge inflorescence