Spotted spurge is a summer annual with a taproot; it has an open and prostrate mat-forming growth habit. It branches freely from the base. The reddish or green prostrate stems form a mat-like growth which often chokes out desirable turfgrasses. When the stems are broken they emit a milky juice. The leaves are opposite and vary in color from a pale reddish-green to a dark green but usually have a conspicuous maroon blotch. The leaves are smooth or sparsely hairy, toothed especially near the tip and unequally sided at the base with a short petiole. Flowers are very small, pinkish-white, inconspicuous, and borne in the leaf axils. Spotted spurge may flower within three to four weeks after emerging in mid-summer. The fruit, a three-lobed capsule, develops rapidly. Spurge is often found in fields, gardens, turf and waste areas.