Spotted Spurge (Note: This is a broadleaf weed, not a true grass)
Euphorbia maculata · Warm-season broadleaf annual weed, C4 plant
AI-generated identification · may be incorrect
Grass Category
Invasive/Weed Grass or Turf Weed
Hardiness Zones
USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 10 as a summer annual weed.
Grass Family
Euphorbiaceae (Spurge family)
Variety / Cultivar
Wild type (no specific turf cultivar)
About This Grass
Low-growing, prostrate summer annual weed with branching reddish stems that exude a milky white sap when broken. Leaves are opposite, small, oval, and often feature a characteristic dark reddish-purple spot in the center. Flowers are extremely small and inconspicuous.
Blade Characteristics
Not a grass, but has small, oblong to oval leaves measuring 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length with finely toothed margins near the tip. Leaves are green with a distinct purple-red blotch.
Root System
Fine, fibrous root system branching from a tough central taproot, allowing it to survive in compacted or dry soils and making mature plants difficult to pull by hand entirely.
Growing Information
Origin Region
Native to North America, widely naturalized globally in warm and temperate regions
Growth Habit
Prostrate, mat-forming annual that spreads outward from a central taproot along the ground
Sunlight & Water Needs
Thrives in full sun and dry to moderately moist soils; highly drought-tolerant once established and frequently invades thin, stressed turf.
Mowing & Maintenance
Grows flat against the ground, allowing it to easily survive standard lawn mowing heights; controlled via selective broadleaf herbicides and maintaining thick turf density.
Special Characteristics
Extremely high seed production, exchews milky latex sap that can cause skin irritation, highly tolerant of compacted soils, heat, and drought, but easily crowded out by dense, healthy turfgrasses.
Ecological Information
Acts as an aggressive colonizer of disturbed soils, bare spots, and thin lawns. Provides minimal value to wildlife aside from occasional seed consumption by small birds.