Chamaesyce polygonifolia (L.) Small:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Euphorbia polygonifolia L.:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Canada

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

It is found along Lake Michigan and in scattered localities along Lake Huron. It is not found in inland sites. It also grows along the Atlantic Ocean from Quebec to Georgia and on seashores in Europe, mainly in France and Spain. (Weatherbee, 2006) It is native to the US and Canada. (NPIN, 2007)  

USA: AL , CT , DE , FL , GA , IL , IN , ME , MD , MA , MI , MS , NH , NJ , NY , NC , OH , PA , RI , SC , VA , WI (NPIN, 2007) 

Canada: NB , NS , PE (NPIN, 2007)

Overall this is a red, sprawling plant with tiny greenish flowers, opposite leaves, and milky juice. (Weatherbee, 2006) The plant is prostrate and much branched. (Peattie, 1930)  

Flowers are greenish and small and found mostly on the tips of the stems or growing in the leaf axils. These are actually fake flowers with a cuplike structure in which the pistil (female flower) forms in the center on a stalk. The flower protrudes and becomes longer as it matures, forming a tiny, plump fruit inside. The stamens (male parts) surround the female. The tiny female parts combined with glands look like the petals of a more normally arranged flower. (Weatherbee, 2006) Peduncles (flower stalks) appear in the forks of the stems. (Peattie, 1930) Flowers are 4-parted, with no petals or sepals but surrounded by petal-like parts. (UW, 2009)  

Fruit is plump and tiny. The flower protrudes and becomes longer as it matures, forming a tiny, plump fruit inside. (Weatherbee, 2006) Seeds are smooth and housed in pods. (Peattie, 1930) The fruit is a 3-lobed capsule with 3 plump, gray, smooth seeds. (UW, 2009)  

Leaves have a milky juice. They are opposite, smooth, and blotched red. They are linear to oblong, entire (not toothed), and slightly lopsided at the base of the leaf. (Weatherbee, 2006) Leaves are entire and are cordate (heart-shaped) at the base. Leaves are oblong-linear, obtuse, and mucronate (having a sharp point). Leaves are opposite on short petioles. (Peattie, 1930)   

Stems This is a twisting, sprawling, recumbent (lying down), matted annual plant with a smooth, red-blotched (or spotted) stems. Stem joints tend to be knobby (slightly bulged), and stems have a milky juice. (Weatherbee, 2006) 

Fruit are 3-3.5 mm (less than 1/8") long. (Weatherbee, 2006) Pods are 2-3 mm long. (Peattie, 1930) 

Leaves are 8-15 mm (3/8-5/8") long. (Weatherbee, 2006) 

This is an upland plant that almost never occurs in wetlands. Distribution is limited to habitats in which little to no human modification has taken place. It grows only on dunes and sandy beaches. (Weatherbee, 2006)

Although most beach plants are perennials, seaside spurge is an annual, meaning it has to form new seedlings every year to survive. Thus, survival is dependent upon a new supply of seed arriving by waves, wind, or pockets of buried seed from previous years. Thus, the abundance of plants varies greatly from year to year in any given location. (Weatherbee, 2006)

Seeds of spurges may be eaten by various birds including mourning doves, northern bobwhites, and various sparrows. (Weatherbee, 2006)

Blooms in the summer. (Peattie, 1930) It blooms July-Oct. (UW, 2009)

This is an annual. (USDA PLANTS, 2009)

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N4 - Apparently Secure

This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state. Common names are from state and federal lists. In Illinois seaside spurge is listed as Endangered. In Pennsylvania small sea-side spurge is listed as Threatened.(USDA PLANTS, 2009)

The milky juice found throughout the plant is poisonous and may produce an itchy rash in susceptible people who touch the plant. (Weatherbee, 2006)