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Matted Sandmat

Euphorbia serpens

Found in dry sandy hammocks, disturbed uplands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 71%

Height
1–2 inches
Spread
2–18 inches
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Dry to average

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual

Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 8 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Euphorbia

  • Automeris ioIo Moth
  • Episimus argutanaSumac Leaftier
  • Erinnyis alopeAlope Sphinx
  • Erinnyis obscuraObscure Sphinx
  • Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
  • Eutrapela clematariaCurved-Tooth Geometer, Purplish Brown Looper
  • Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
  • Lobocleta plemyrariaStraight-Lined Wave
  • Melanochroia chephiseWhite-Tipped Black Moth, Snowbush Spanworm
  • Pygarctia abdominalisYellow-Edged Pygarctia
Show all 12
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
  • Ethelgoda texanana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
14BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Euphorbia

  • Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
  • Anthus spragueiiSprague's Pipit
  • Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
  • Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
  • Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
  • Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
  • Corvus brachyrhynchosAmerican Crow
  • Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
Show all 14
  • Spizella breweriBrewer's Sparrow
  • Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
  • Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
  • Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Euphorbiaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–11a
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Green or white

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Chamaesyce serpens; Roundleaf Sandmat

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankNot available
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources