Wedge Spurge / Center For Plant Conservation
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Plant Profile

Wedge Spurge (Euphorbia deltoidea ssp. serpyllum)

Photo Credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Global Rank: T1 - Critically Imperiled
  • Legal Status: Federally Endangered
  • Family: Euphorbiaceae
  • State: FL
  • Nature Serve ID: 138796
  • Lifeform: Forb/herb
  • Date Inducted in National Collection:
Description:

Chamaesyce deltoidea ssp. serpyllum is a perennial herb with many wiry stems radiating from a taproot, forming mats, or tufts, up to 6 inches wide. It has hairy prostrate stems, twisted leaf hairs, and a silver-gray appearance and occurs only on Big Pine Key, FL. Its native rockland habitat is threatened by habitat loss and invasive non-native plants. It is also shade intolerant and requires periodic burning to reduce competition from woody vegetation so fire suppression contributes to its predicament as well.

Where is Wedge Spurge (Euphorbia deltoidea ssp. serpyllum) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Chamaesyce deltoidea ssp. serpyllum can be found in the pine rocklands of South Florida, specifically on the island of Big Pine Key in Monroe County.

Distribution:

Fewer than twenty occurrences of Chamaesyce deltoidea ssp. serpyllum are observed only on Big Pine Key, Florida. There are as many as 400-500 individuals at a few locales and there could be as many as 10,000 plants altogether. (NatureServe 2017.)

Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation, and associated pressures from increased human population, are major threats to Chamaecrista lineata var. keyensis. These threats are expected to continue, placing these plants at greater risk. This plant may be impacted when pine rocklands are converted to other uses or when lack of fire causes the conversion to hardwood hammocks or other unsuitable habitat conditions. Any populations of this found on private property could be destroyed by development; the limited pine rocklands, rockland hammock, and coastal berm habitat on public lands can also be affected by development of recreational facilities or infrastructure projects. (Federal Register 2016.)

States & Provinces:

Wedge Spurge can be found in Florida

Which CPC Partners conserve Wedge Spurge (Euphorbia deltoidea ssp. serpyllum)?

  • Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

    Not Sponsored
    Conservation Actions
    Assigned 06/09/17
    • CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

    Conservation Actions

    Tina Stanley
    • 05/11/2023
      • Orthodox Seed Banking

    According to a March 2023 extract of the Florida Plant Rescue Database, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden holds 1 accessions of Chamaesyce deltoidea ssp. serpyllum totalling approximately 48 seeds representing 14 maternal lines.

    Nature Serve Biotics
    • 05/02/2017

    Florida endemic, known only from Big Pine Key in Monroe County. Few occurrences, but some large populations. Very narrow range. Occurs on the edges of hammocks and pinelands. Given its narrow habitat range, and the small number of individuals that occur, Chamaesyce deltoidea ssp. serpyllum is vulnerable to extinction, and is furthermore threatened by development pressure on habitat, suppression and disruption of natural fire regimes, and non-native plant invasions.

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    Nomenclature
    Taxon Euphorbia deltoidea ssp. serpyllum
    Authority Ya Yang
    Family Euphorbiaceae
    CPC Number 895
    ITIS 845636
    USDA EUDES
    Duration
    Common Names Wedge Spurge | wedge sandmat | Pineland sandmat
    Associated Scientific Names Euphorbia deltoidea ssp. serpyllum | Chamaesyce deltoidea ssp. serpyllum | Chamaesyce serpyllum | Euphorbia deltoidea
    Distribution Fewer than twenty occurrences of Chamaesyce deltoidea ssp. serpyllum are observed only on Big Pine Key, Florida. There are as many as 400-500 individuals at a few locales and there could be as many as 10,000 plants altogether. (NatureServe 2017.)

    Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation, and associated pressures from increased human population, are major threats to Chamaecrista lineata var. keyensis. These threats are expected to continue, placing these plants at greater risk. This plant may be impacted when pine rocklands are converted to other uses or when lack of fire causes the conversion to hardwood hammocks or other unsuitable habitat conditions. Any populations of this found on private property could be destroyed by development; the limited pine rocklands, rockland hammock, and coastal berm habitat on public lands can also be affected by development of recreational facilities or infrastructure projects. (Federal Register 2016.)
    State Rank
    State State Rank
    Florida S1
    Ecological Relationships

    Photos

    Photo Credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service

    Photo Credit: Chris Migliaccio

    The Keys wedge spurge (Euphorbia deltoidea ssp. serpyllum) is historically only known from pine rockland habitat on the island of Big Pine Key in the lower Florida Keys and it was federally listed as endangered in 2016. In 2019, in an effort to safeguard this species, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Conservation introduced seeds to the neighboring island of No Name Key, where recent pine rockland restoration efforts improved habitat for rare plant translocations of this species and others (Big Pine partridge pea, sand flax). In this photo one month after seed introduction, there are 2 seedlings of the Keys wedge spurge, one set of cotyledons with its seed coat still attached!

    Photo Credit: Lydia Cuni
    Reintroduction
    Lead Institution State Reintroduction Type Year of First Outplanting
    Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Florida 2019

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