Overview
Wedge spurge is a wiry-stemmed, matting, perennial herb with tiny, grayish, triangular-to-oval-shaped leaves. The plant produces three-seeded fruits and exists only in the pine rocklands and roadsides on Big Pine Key and No Name Key (where it was successfully reintroduced) in Monroe County, Florida.
Threats
The primary threats to wedge spurge are habitat destruction, fragmentation, and modification due to development, fire suppression, invasive plants, and sea level rise. Its habitat of pine rocklands is a globally imperiled ecosystem.
Scientific Name
Identification Numbers
Characteristics
Habitat
Occurs in sunny gaps and edges in pine rockland, often on bare rock, and in cleared rockland areas such as firebreaks or roadsides.
Physical Characteristics
Wedge spurge forms a small (up to six inches), matted rosette of wiry stems with tiny, silver-green leaves.
Life Cycle
Fruit production is year-round, with a peak in the fall. Little is known about wedge spurge’s reproduction; however, other congeneric species completely rely on insects for pollination and seed production while others are self-pollinating. Pollinators may include bees, flies, ants, and wasps. Ants have been observed visiting flowers of conspecific taxa, though it remains unclear whether they are effective pollinators.
Similar Species
The deltoid spurge complex is distinguished from other similar Euphorbia species that may be found in pine rocklands by the small, triangular leaves. Wedge spurge can be separated from other deltoid spurges geographically (only being found in the Lower Keys) as well as by having shorter hairs and a silver-green color.
Timeline
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