Euphorbia albomarginata facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Euphorbia albomarginata |
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Euphorbia
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albomarginata
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Euphorbia albomarginata is a small plant. It is also known as whitemargin sandmat or rattlesnake weed. This plant belongs to the spurge family. It grows low to the ground. You can find it in deserts, chaparral, and grasslands. It is native to southwestern North America. Its range goes from southern California to northern Mexico and Louisiana.
This plant is easy to identify. It has small, dusty green leaves. It grows very flat, almost like a mat. Its flowers have a white circle around a burgundy center. Euphorbia albomarginata is the only plant of its kind in the Santa Monica Mountains. Other similar plants there are not native. Like other spurges, it has a white, milky sap. This sap is poisonous. It is one of only 11 native Euphorbia plants in California.
Contents
What Euphorbia albomarginata Looks Like
Euphorbia albomarginata is a common plant that covers the ground. It usually grows less than 1/2 inch (13 mm) high. Each plant can spread to cover about one square foot. They often grow close together. This forms thick mats of plants.
You can find this plant in open fields. It also grows on roadsides. It likes places where the ground has been disturbed. Sometimes it even grows in suburban yards. There, people might consider it a weed.
The Name of the Plant
The plant's old genus name was Chamaesyce. This name comes from Greek words. "Chame" means "on the ground." "Syce" means "fig." This name describes how the plant grows. It lies very flat, as if something pushed it down.
The name albomarginata describes the flower. "Albo" means "white." "Marginata" means "margined" or "edged." So, it means "white-margined." This refers to the white ring around the flower.
Flowers and Leaves
The flower has a circular burgundy center. It has a white ring around it. The plant does not have true petals. Instead, it has special modified leaves called bracts. These bracts are rounder than the other leaves. They form a cup-like shape.
Inside the cup, there are tiny male flowers. There are 12 to 30 of them. Each male flower has only one stamen. They are hard to see. There is one female flower in the center. It has an ovary on a long stalk. When fertilized, this ovary grows into a fruit. This fruit is a capsule.
The leaves are round or heart-shaped. The point of the heart shape is away from the small stem. This stem is called a petiole. The leaves that are not part of the flower are a unique "dusty green." They can have green or sometimes burgundy edges. The stems are also often burgundy. This color is similar to the flower's center. It becomes even more noticeable after a late spring or summer rain.
Traditional Uses of the Plant
This plant was once used as a folk remedy. People used it for snakebites. They would make a poultice or a tea from it. This is why it is called "rattlesnake weed."
However, there is no proof that this plant helps with rattlesnake venom. Like most spurges, rattlesnake weed has a milky sap. This sap is poisonous to humans. It can make you vomit or have a strong laxative effect. People might have thought these effects were a cure.
The Zuni people used the leaves and roots. They ate them to help mothers produce milk.
Other Names for Euphorbia albomarginata
- Rattlesnake weed
- Whitemargin sandmat
- Golondrina (Spanish – meaning "swallow" (the bird))
- Yerba de la vibora (Spanish – meaning "viper grass")
See also
In Spanish: Euphorbia albomarginata para niños
