地锦 di jin

Chamaesyce humifusa (Willdenow) Pro khanov; Euphorbia granulata Forsskål var. dentata N. E. Brown; E. inaequalis N. E. Brown; E. parvifolia E. Meyer ex Boissier; E. pseudochamaesyce Fischer; E. sanguinea Klotzsch & Garcke; E. tashiroi Hayata.

Herbs, annual, 20(-30) cm tall. Root fibrous, 2-3 mm, usually single. Stems many from base, prostrate or ascending, 1-3 mm thick, often red or pinkish red, glabrous or pilose. Leaves opposite; stipules membranous, deeply divided into often threadlike lobes, to 1.5 mm, caducous; petiole 1-2 mm; leaf blade oblong or elliptic, 5-10 × 3-6 mm, adaxially green, abaxially light green, sometimes light red, both surfaces glabrous or pilose, base obliquely truncate, margin finely serrulate above middle, apex obtuse. Cyathia single, axillary, peduncle 1-3 mm; involucre turbinate, ca. 1 × 1 mm, marginal lobes 4, triangular; glands 4, oblong, appendages white or pink-red. Male flowers many, as high as cup. Female flower: ovary 3-angular-ovoid, smooth and glabrous; styles free, persistent; stigma 2-lobed. Capsule 3-angular-ovoid-globose, ca. 2 × 2.2 mm, smooth. Seeds 3-angular-ovoid-globose, ca. 1.3 × 0.9 mm, gray, each side smooth; caruncle absent. Fl. and fr. May-Oct. 2n = 22*.

Fields, roadsides, sandy hills, seashores, slopes, very common, usually in open situations; near sea level to 3000(-3800) m. Throughout China except Hainan [widely distributed in temperate regions of Africa, Asia, and Europe].

There is no clear way of separating Euphorbia humifusa from E. inaequalis, which is widely distributed in Africa and expands the distribution and synonymy considerably.

This species is used medicinally.