Kingdom Plantae Family Euphorbiaceae Scientific name Euphorbia ocellata Rank Species | Order Malpighiales Genus Euphorbia Higher classification Spurges | |
Euphorbia ocellata is a species of euphorb known by the common name Contura Creek sandmat. It is native to the southwestern United States where it grows in many types of habitat. This is a small annual herb with pairs of oblong to lance-shaped leaves, each leaf up to about 1.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a cyathium only 2 millimeters wide. It consists of petal-like appendages surrounding the actual flowers, each with a round nectar gland at its base. The appendages are sometimes absent. The flowers include one female flower ringed by up to 60 male flowers. The fruit is a lobed, spherical capsule less than 3 millimeters wide.
There are three subspecies. One, the Stony Creek spurge or Rattan's sandmat (ssp. rattanii), is endemic to the northern Sacramento Valley of California.