Euphorbia polycarpa is a species of spurge known by the common name smallseed sandmat. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, especially the deserts and other dry, sandy areas. This is a perennial herb producing stems that trail along the ground to form a clump or mat, sometimes growing somewhat upright. The leaves are each under a centimeter long. They are round or oval-shaped and have triangular stipule

Stipule

In botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...

s at the bases.
What looks like a single flower is actually an inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

 of many staminate

Stamen

The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...

 (male) flowers united around a single central pistillate

Gynoecium

Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...

 (female) flower. Bract

Bract

In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...

s surrounding the flower unit are white and petal-like. The fruit is a thin spherical capsule less than 2 millimeters wide layered over a seed.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• Photo gallery