Rattlesnake Weed
Chamaesyce albomarginata
Color: White
Common name: Rattlesnake weed
Latin name: Chamaesyce albomarginata
Family: EUPHORBIACEAE
Description: Dense, thin mats of small, roundish opposite leaves and slender stems have milky sap, and have many tiny white flower-like cups. Stems lay flat on the ground, without hairs; the white parts are not the flower, but appendages that surround a tiny petal-less flower on a stalk consisting of 1 female flower surrounded by 15-30 male flowers.
Leaf: 3–8 mm; blade round to oblong, without hairs, short-tapered, blunt-tip or base, margin continuous and smooth.
Range: s San Joaquin Valley, Southwestern California, Deserts.
Habitat: Dry slopes
Elevation: < 2300 m.
Flowering time: Apr–Nov
Notes: Photographed November 3, 2007 on Highway 247 south of Barstow, San Bernardino, Calif. The sap was once thought by Native Americans to be a cure for rattlesnake bites, therefore its common name. A dicot, is a common perennial herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Distribution outside California: to Utah, Texas, Mexico
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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