Euphorbia peplis L.
A hairless, glaucous annual, usually with four prostrate branches at the base. Stems purple, branching, up to 15 cm long. Leaves opposite, blue-green, oblong, asymmetrical, toothed around the base, sometimes emarginate; 0.5 to 1.5 cm long. Petioles 1 to 2 mm long. Flowers tiny, solitary, in the leaf axils; with four elliptic to semi-circular purple to reddish-brown glands, which have paler appendages. Capsule 3 to 4 mm long, hairless, with 3 clearly marked segments. Seeds greyish, smooth, about 3 mm long.
Local:Very rare in Gibraltar. Found at the eastern end of the airport runway.
Global: Found throughout the Mediterranean region and western Europe, western Asia and Canary Islands.
Flowers from May, June to July (September).
Grows on coastal sands.